Naruto Ipod Shuffle
by I-Heart-Hatake-Kakashi
Summary: CH17: ShinoHana.
1. Introduction

**Disclaimer (for all chapters):**I don't own Naruto, and I only own the (6,000) songs on my IPOD for listening purposes. (and I just got a new CD in the mail today: Santi by The Academy Is... been wanting that for so long! yeah i know, weird... I do still buy CDs... got 4 new ones this week along!... but hey, i cut out about 1,000 the other day... I had a little over 7,000 before that... I'm referring to song here... not CDs... wow... that would be a lot... even for me... )

**A/N**: Got this idea from **Midnight Memories**' music shuffle meme, which, btw I command you all to go check out! (lol… does command sound any less harsh than order? Or is it just as demanding?)… anywho, here's the rules to the challenge:

**1**. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like. (**NARUTO, duh!**)  
** 2**. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle.  
**3**. Write a drabble related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!  
**4**. Do ten of these, then post them.

This is the first time I've ever done any of these challenges... I'm excited... :D Let me just say, this is mostly just free flow, so it probably won't be what you're all used to getting from me… definitely not as detailed… so we'll see how it goes… **XD**

Enjoy! and remember to **Review, please and thank you**. :D

-**E**

P.S. Can anyone tell me what "meme" means?...

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(SPOILER WARNING)  


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**EDIT**: As far as **Requests** go...  
Ideally I'd like to dedicate each chapter to someone (and if I have only 3 reviewers, I'll just keep dedicating them to you three, I don't mind XP), but since this isn't my usual "NejiTen only" collection, I'm not sure what everyone likes and dislikes, so I wouldn't know what to dedicate to who... some ideas I have at the moment to do in the future are:

-**MORE** NejiTen (lots more! lol)  
-ShikaTem  
-Kakashi-centric  
-Kakashi/Obito (friendship fic)  
-Team Minato  
-Minato-centric  
-_maybe_... Minato/Kushina  
-Team Kakashi  
-NaruSaku  
-NaruSasu (friendship fic)  
-SasuItach (family fic)  
-KakashiGai (friendship fic)  
-Team Gai  
-Gai/Lee (friendship fic)  
-_maybe_... LeeTen and/or NejiLee (friendship fics)  
-Hyuga (family fic)  
-Sand Sibilings (family fic)  
-Gaara-centric  
-Team Asuma  
-ShikaCho (friendship fic)  
-Team Kurenai  
-Jiraya (**T.T**... how long's it been, and I'm **still** crying... Mid-December since 382... I'm bound to run out of tears someday...)  
-Jiraya/Tsunade (friendship fic... possibly pairing fic... not sure)  
-Tsunade  
-Tsunade/Shizune (friendship fic)  
-Sannin (friendship fic)

and I think thats about all I can think of right now... there will definitely be a lot more NejiTen... and possibly some more KibaHina... and if anyone has some other ideas, let me know... just PS... things I most likely, definitely, probably not, will not do are:

-NejiSaku (no... I just don't get it!)  
-ShikaIno (got nothing against the pairing, but I would probably end up killing Ino off, or making her come off really mean, or having Temari show up to beat her up... so you ShikaIno fans might not want to see that...)  
-any thing Yaoi or Yuri... (nothing against anyone, but... I don't think I could pull it off... and I've never read any so I wouldn't even know how to go about doing it)

(NOTE: I don't mind NaruHina or SasuSaku (although I've got issues with Sasuke; issues last on the last manga I was dancing around like a crazy person sing "he failed! he failed! he failed!... very happily... so... you might not want to make me do that one either))... PS... "spoiler"... though not really because you don't know what my little song was about... and it's probably not exactly what you think it is (certainly wasn't for brother when I sang it to him before he finished chapter 393)

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One more thing...keep in mind, each chapter's pairing or character will likely depend on whatever the first song makes me think of... so... give me 3 choices and I'll see which one inspiration picks up on. **XD**... also, I do these inbetween studying, so they will not always flow... plus, I have such a variety of songs, it's be amazing if they did... 


	2. NejiTen

_**DEDICATION**_ – To **Midnight Memories** (of course!)… thanks for the great idea, and thanks for the dedication in your ShikaTem chapter.** XD**

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MUST CHECK OUT the comic by Tenten-Dark-Angel for drabble 6... link is on my profile (it's really cute)

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1. Spitting Games- Snow Patrol – 3:48  
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Tenten woke up bright and early for her day off. It was the first one in weeks.

"What's this?" she turned to find a piece of paper next to her bed. Carefully opening it up she found a note, delicately written, inside.

'Meet me at the bridge at noon.'

She was fairly certain she knew who it was from; after all, only one person could possibly have been able to quietly sneak past all her traps in the middle of the night. Only one pair of eyes could have seen through the maze of wires and kunai that protected her at night.

"I wonder what Neji wants." She smiled. It couldn't have been training, because he would have told her to join him at their sparring grounds instead.

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2. Duck and Run -- 3 Doors Down 3:52  
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It bothered Tenten to no end that everyone always compared her to the other members of her team, or the kunoichi of the rookie 9, and she always seemed to fall short. As hard as she trained, as hard as she tried, she was never as good as any of them.

Neji was a genius; a prodigy; the pride of the mighty Hyuga clan. Lee, even without Genjutsu or Ninjutsu, he was still recognized for his greatness; his ability to surpass any other in Taijutsu.

Sakura was an amazing medic, and apprentice to the fifth Hokage; Tenten's idol. Ino had her clan's mind transfer jutsu, and she was considered by all to be one of the most beautiful girls in Konoha. And even shy little Hinata wad held in high regards. She, of course, had her family's bloodline limit, the byakugan, and being the heir to the most powerful clan in the village didn't hurt either.

But what about Tenten? She was no one. Not even a last name to call her own. Sure she could throw a couple of weapons and she could hit a target 100 out of a 100 times, but still, to everyone else, she was the forgotten one, the 'average' kunoichi.

_But that doesn't mean I'll stop trying._ Tenten told herself, as she picked herself up from the floor, having once more lost a sparring match to her genius partner.

"Ready Neji?" she asked as she dusted herself off.

"Hn." The hyuga replied, once more taking his stance.

_I won't duck and run!_ Tenten thought to herself. _That's not who I am_.

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3. Reach for the Sky- Social Distortion 3:31  
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When I was young, it didn't matter what I did. I was a branch member. What became of me didn't mean anything. It was fated that I would never be anything more than a branch member, serving the main house.

I found myself not thinking twice about the risks that I took because I had nothing to lose, no future; nothing to fear. I considered myself invincible.

But then came Tenten. And suddenly I had _everything_ to lose. I tried to deny it, tried to run and hide from it, but I couldn't. She became my one and only weakness.

It wasn't until I realized that the feelings I had for her, which had at first bothered me, were love, that it saw the error in my thinking. I hadn't been invincible before because I had nothing to lose, I was invincible now, because I had something to fight for.

Life is fleeting. Every moment is a gift we need to make last, because tomorrow may never come.

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4. Sexyback – Justin Timberlake 3:28  
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"What are you hold behind your back?" Neji questioned.

"Oh, just something I found at the weapon's store." Tenten innocently replied.

"Byakugan." Neji activated his bloodline limit. "Why would you need a whip?" he couldn't figure out how that 'weapon' could be more useful than the steel weapons she was more used to.

"Oh, this isn't for missions." Tenten nonchalantly stated.

"Then what's it for?" Neji asked.

"This is to make sure you're kept in line." Tenten devilishly grinned.

"…" Neji's eye brows rose questioningly.

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5. Vuelve – Shakira 3:56  
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It had been a year since his ANBU team had gone on their mission. It wasn't supposed to have taken that long, and everyone feared that something had happened to them. For months, Tenten had waited at the front gates in hopes that that would be the day they would return; but they didn't.

Even now, as the rest of the village had given up on ever seeing them again, Tenten wouldn't believe it. Neji was strong, he wouldn't be defeated so easily.

"Come back. Please, come back." Tenten's tear stained cheeks betrayed how much he had truly meant to her.

They had always been considered by all as nothing more than friends and teammates, but she had always loved him. She only wished she could have told him so when he was there.

"Tenten." A deep baritone voice roused her out of her thoughts.

"N-Ne-" Tenten couldn't even get the words out as she saw the man she had waited for, for so long, standing before her.

As weak and tired as he looked, Tenten still felt the strength in his spirit as he pulled her up to him and kissed her. She didn't even care that he was muddy and covered in dry blood. She was just happy to see him again. Happy he had returned to her.

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6. Why Can't You Be Nicer To Me? – White Stripes 3:22  
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"You're so mean Neji!" Tenten screamed, deploying another wave of steel toward the Hyuga's head.

"Tenten." Neji calmly dodged the weapons once more. "I am not being mean. You are being hormonal."

"AHHHH!!" Tenten screamed, before throwing the lamp next to her, as she had, miraculously, ran out of all of her weapons and needed something else to aim at the prodigy.

"Stop that!" Neji caught the expensive lamp before it could come crashing into his head.

"Not until you start being nicer to me." Tenten complained.

"You need to calm down." Neji told her.

"Why should I?" Tenten pouted, dropping herself onto the soft couch, like a moping two year old.

""Tsunade-sama warned that overexerting yourself could be harmful to you and the baby." Neji reminded her, as he moved to sit next to his **very** pregnant wife.

"Well you shouldn't be so mean to me." Tenten whined.

"I only said it looks as if you might be ready to go into labor any day now." Neji pulled his arms around her shoulders, leaning her into him as they both sat on the couch.

"Yeah, well all I heard was 'you look fat'." She replied.

"You look beautiful." Neji kissed her forehead.

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7. You Found Me – Kelly Clarkson 3:38  
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While everyone saw Hinata-sama's byakugan and gentle fist style, Haruno's impressive medical jutsu, and Yamanaka's mind transfer jutsu, they all stupidly failed to see **her**. Tenten was truly the stronger of the four. She had not been blessed with a special bloodline limit, she had not had the fortune of being trained by a legendary kunoichi, and she had not been fortunately enough to belong to a clan that could teach her to use a jutsu they had perfected over the generations. No, Tenten has achieved her success and strength entirely on her own. Through her own will and determination, she had gained an ability that was unrivaled by anyone else in the village; after all, she was the _only_ weapons master.

While the rest of the world may have been easily impressed by trivial achievement attained merely by fortune of birth, Tenten defied fate. She was great because she **chose** to be so. She worked for everything she had, and never gave up, despite how little recognition she attained through her efforts.

But I always saw her. I knew.

She was prefect. I am proud that I have been a part of her efforts to gain all that she was; and one day, I'll tell her so.

"Ready Neji?" Tenten asked as she picked herself off the ground, having just lost another match to me.

"Hn."

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8. Kung Fu Fighting – Carl Douglas 3:17  
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"Neji." The bun-haired kunoichi whispered from beside the wide eyed prodigy. "I'm scared."

"Hn." Neji agreed, watching as Gai and Lee kicked and punched the air in front of them.

"What is wrong with them?" Tenten asked, as the two **sane** members of Team Gai watched the pair reenact scenes from the movie Gai-sensei had just taken their team to see at the theater, on their weekly team-bonding outing.

"What is the highest technique you hope to achieve?" Gai asked, as he took an unnecessary kung fu pose.

"To have no technique." Lee took his own pose.

"Very good." Gai pumped his fist as if hitting an imaginary opponent. "What are your thoughts when facing an opponent?"

"There is no opponent" Lee mimicked his teacher's actions.

"And why is that?" Gai shouted, before taking a summersault in the air.

"Because the word 'I' does not exist!" Lee shouted.

"Continue." Gai yelled back, as the pair proceeded to kick the air in front of them.

"A good fight –" Lee continued, as Neji and Tenten stared at their teammates in horror.

"How long is this Bruce Lee movie marathon in the village for?" Tenten asked Neji, as the pair slowly began to back away, hoping no one would think they had come with those two.

"Too long." Neji replied, before they turned to sprint away from the kung fu pair.

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9. Lightness – Death Cab for Cutie 3:29  
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"Neji!" Tenten gasped in surprise at one of her kunai actually piercing the Hyuga's flesh.

Dropping all of her weapons, she rushed to the bleeding shinobi's side to see if he was okay.

"What happened?" Tenten asked, as she examined the wound.

It was nothing fatal, but it was worst than anything Neji had ever taken during one of their sparring matches.

"Hn." Neji grunted, brushing off the girl's question.

"Don't you 'hn' me!" Tenten reproached, "You've been distracted all day, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Neji averted his eyes from the kunoichi, knowing she knew him well enough to be able to read his eyes when he was being untruthful.

"Oh, it's something." Tenten stated, "and I'm going to find out just what it is." She moved toward their supplies to pick up the bandages for Neji.

Unbeknownst to the weapon's mistress, Neji observed her walking away out of the corner of his eye, reprimanding himself for having gotten distracted so easily. But it wasn't every day that Tenten's shirt was sliced down the middle, revealing a hint of chest-bindings; what teenage boy could stop himself from peeking?

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10. Feeling Good – Muse 3:19  
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"Nine," Neji watched the birds fly past him. "There were nine of them. I missed one again."

"Hurry up Neji-kun." Lee shouted at his best friend as they stood before the large doors that lead to the gardens surrounding his family's temple shrine. "You don't want to keep Tenten-san waiting do you?"

"Hn." Neji adjusted his kimono, preparing himself to enter the next phase of his life.

It was a new dawn, a new day, a new life.

He entered the gardens, seeing all his closest friends and family seated; waiting. He moved to the front of the assembly and took his place, with Lee at his side. The soft instrumental music began playing in the background, as the same doors he walked through opened to reveal the weapons mistress and their sensei standing there. Slowly they began marching down the small path laid out before them.

Neji smiled at the woman who would soon become his wife. It was a new beginning, and Neji was feeling very good.

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**A/N**: Crap! This was so much harder than I thought it would be… I was lucky at first that I got songs with actual stories in them that I could just run with… but damn!

**What I thought…**

1. The funny thing about this song is that it has so much to do with the oneshot fic I was working on before deciding to take a break and work on this.

2. Duck and Run, I kind of though of them sparring, but then, the lyrics kind of drove this story…

3. I honestly wasn't sure, at first, whether to make it about Neji or about Tenten… it really does apply to both of them, the whole "reach for the sky"… but ultimately I decided on Neji because there was a sort of "fate-ish" vibe to it.

4. lol... I ran out of time to complete, my mind went insane when I realized what song it was and how it so fit Neji… lol… I couldn't decide what to do, so… yeah… There's a line in the song that says "I'll let you whip me if I misbehave"… lol… dirty thoughts, oh so many dirty thoughts. XP... but they're out in the clearing training people!

5. Only barely uses a few things from the song… Vuelve btw is Spanish for "come back" or close to that… it's a really good song… before she jumped into the English market… she was so much better…

6. HAHAHA… so funny… nothing to do with the song (other than the title), but that's what popped into my head.

7. Guess that one kind of goes well with # 2

8. How could I NOT think of Lee and Gai for that one?! And in case you're wondering, that's a scene from the movie Enter the Dragon (well dialogue anyway… don't ask me how I know).

9. There's a line at the beginning of that… lol…

10. I love Muse… should have had more Muse up there… but with 6K song and only 80 muse songs… what are the chances? **XP**


	3. KibaHina

_**Character/pairing: Kiba x Hinata**_

_**DEDICATION**_ – **NichiNara**, I hope this makes you feel a little better… 'wishing you lots of luck and happiness.'

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1. In Flowers – James Blunt 2:12  
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"How about this one?" Kiba pointed to a purple flower with giant petals.

"No, that's not the right one either." Hinata shook her head at the flower her friend had pointed out.

"What did you say it looked like again?" Kiba asked the girl for the tenth time that hour.

"The flower has 3 large, green, lifelike bracts, consists of 5 greenish-white sepals, 5 white petals and a fringelike corona of straight, purple, white-tipped rays." Hinata quietly explained again.

"Huh?" Kiba stared with a confused look on his face.

"It's a very unique flower, you'll know which one it is when you see it." Hinata assure him. "and it smells sweeter that any other flower here."

"Why didn't you just say that?" Kiba smirked, "I can find something like that!" he replied, sniffing the gentle breeze to see what he could pick up.

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2. Suspicious Minds – Elvis Presley 3:50  
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"Do you think she still loves him?" Kiba asked his Akamaru.

_ARF_ the big white dog responded.

"Yeah, I know I shouldn't worry." Kiba replied, "She's with me now." He reminded himself, "But…"

_BARK!_ The big dog reprimanded.

"I know what I said" Kiba scowled, "But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt to think she still has feelings for him."

_ARF._ Akamaru barked sympathetically.

"I just love her so much." Kiba sighed.

"I love you too Kiba-kun." Hinata walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. "And only you."

_WOLF_.

"And you too Akamaru-kun" Hinata smiled at the big dog.

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3. I Don't Want To Miss A Thing – Aerosmith 5:01  
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Kiba stared down at the sleeping figure in his arms. They had been friends for so long, and she still didn't realize how much he loved her. Hinata had been infatuated with the hyperactive blond that Kiba called his friend, yet Naruto was so enamored with Sakura that he failed to notice the princess hiding in the background. But not Kiba, he'd notice Hinata from the start.

He watched as she calmly slept; her breath, soft and steady.

Shino and Kurenai had left earlier, but Hinata hadn't wanted to go home just yet; things weren't exactly peaceful in her house. Kiba had decided to stay with her for a while, maybe help her practice; which seemed to be what she had wanted to do.

They had trained well past sunset. The sky had grown dark, and the stars began twinkling in the deep blue sky. They had decided to take a rest, to see the stars for a while and eventually she had fallen asleep.

He hadn't wanted to wake her, so Kiba look his thick jacket off and placed it around her shoulders. Despite the cool night air, he didn't feel cold. He felt warm holding her in his arms. And though he felt tired, he didn't want to close his eyes.

For now, he wanted nothing more than to enjoy this moment; to be lost in it's perfection. Because no one could be sure how long it would last; and Kiba didn't want to miss a thing.

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4. I Can't Win -- The Strokes 2:35  
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"Yo! Hinata" Kiba walked up the girl sitting at the top of the flower hill. "What's up?"

"K-Kiba-kun." Hinata wiped away the tears that had been previously rolling down her flushed cheeks.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kiba walked up to her, practically pressing his face up to hers, "why were you crying?" he asked in concern.

"It's nothing." Hinata denied.

"No, it's something." Kiba wouldn't be distracted. "Was it Naruto?"

Hinata nodded gentle.

"I'll be right back." Kiba stomped off before Hinata could stop him.

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5. Hate to Say I Told You So – The Hives 3:22  
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"Naruto!" Hinata gasped as she saw her long time childhood crush kissing the pink haired kunoichi a few yards away.

The next thing she remembered, she started running. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she just couldn't stop herself. She ran as far and as fast as her legs would take her. She wasn't even looking where she was headed; didn't notice him until they both came crashing to the ground.

"Hinata?" Kiba looked up at the girl who was pinning him to the ground.

"Kiba-kun." Hinata looked down at her friend. "Gomennasai." She apologized through her tears.

"Hey, it's ok." Kiba told her, "It was an accident; no reason to cry."

"That's not why I'm crying." Hinata replied.

"…" Kiba looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"He…" Hinata began, but was unable to bring herself to finish; regardless, Kiba understood.

He pulled her into his arms and hugged her comfortingly. "It'll be okay."

"Thank you." Hinata sniffed.

"What for?" Kiba asked.

"For not saying 'I told you so'." She replied. "You were right."

"I wish I hadn't been." Kiba replied, wiping away her tears with his hand, before pulling her back into his arms.

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6. Back in Black – AC/DC 4:13  
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The alarm clock was sent flying clear across the room moments after it began ringing. In a matter of moments, Kiba jumped out of bed, change into his clothes and jumped out the window to the streets below.

The annual "most eligible shinobi" list had come out the previous day, and he had been voted number 1. Sure, Neji was no longer available, having finally proposed to Tenten; Sasuke was still missing, thus ineligible for the position; Kakashi's name had long ago been removed, as it was considered unfair to the rest of the shinobi to have him on a list he could never lose; and Temari had threatened to kill the editors of the list if they even considered putting Shikamaru on there; but that didn't make the win any less significant to Kiba.

Strutting down the street, a swagger in his step; Kiba felt on top of the world. This was HIS day. Nothing could bring him down. He was cool, and now everybody knew it.

"Kiba-kun." A soft familiar voice called out from behind him.

Before he even realized it, his face hit the dirt, in a very ungraceful fall.

Oh yeah, he was cool; except when Hinata came around, and all his muscles turned to jelly.

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7. Time After Time – Eva Cassidy 3:54  
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Hinata laid in bed listening to the clock tick in the background, with her eyes closed in concentration. Her head hurt; she couldn't understand what was going on inside her.

For so many years she had been in love with Naruto, and he still didn't notice her. But now she found herself thinking more and more about her wild teammate. Kiba did have a lot of the same personality traits that Naruto did, and she wondered if perhaps she was merely transferring her feelings for Naruto onto Kiba. But the more she thought about it, the more she wondered.

Kiba had always been there for her. He was her best friend, her closest confidant. He always made her laugh, always stayed with her when she needed someone to comfort her. He was warm and affectionate; he was loving and sweet; loyal and kind.

"Jeeze, I'm describing a dog." Hinata groaned as she rubbed her head.

"What's wrong with dogs?" Kiba asked, from her windowsill.

"K-Kiba-kun." Hinata jumped in surprise, tumbling off the edge of her bed in the process.

She braced herself for the impeding crash with her floor, but it never came. Opening her eyes, she found herself comfortably positioned in Kiba's arms.

"I got you." Kiba smiled down at her. His wolfish grin always sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

"Thank you." Hinata replied.

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8. Memory – Sugarcult 3:46  
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"Idiot!" Kiba knocked over a lamp with his fist. "I'm so stupid!" he groaned, hitting another lamp.

"Hey, you're going to have to clean that up." Hana told her frustrated younger brother as she walked in to see him trashing their family room.

"You're a grown up." Kiba exclaimed, "Tell me how to fix this."

"Save yourself the trouble little brother," Hana jokingly responded before he could even tell her what he was talking about. "Just walk away."

"What kind of advice is that?" Kiba demanded angrily.

"The best kind." She replied, suppressing a smirk as she toyed with her brother's obvious frustration. It was cute to see him so worked up; teasing is what big sisters do.

"It was pointless asking for your help wasn't it?" Kiba sighed, not yet realizing he hadn't even told her what the problem was.

"Ok fine." She sat down to listen to him seriously. "What exactly is it you want?"

"I just want everything to go back to the way it was…" his voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "before…"

"Before what?" Hana seriously asked.

"Before I kissed her and ruined everything." Kiba groaned. "I'm such a coward, I didn't even wait to see how to reacted."

"Oh, so this is about a girl then." Hana sat up, now paying attention.

"Yeah." Kiba nodded.

"It wouldn't happen to be concerning a certain pretty Hyuga, who's currently walking up the steps, now would it?" she asked.

Kiba turned to see Hinata walking towards them with his mother. Every cell in his body told him to run, but his heart told him he had to stay.

"Good luck." His sister waved goodbye as she exited the room.

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9. She's Got Something To Say To Me – 2:32  
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"Can you find her Akamaru?" Kiba turned down toward his best buddy, who only shook his head.

She had gone to finally tell Naruto exactly how she felt. A panic had arisen in Kiba's chest when he overheard her tell the other girls that she planned on confessing her feelings to the man she loved today. His heart immediately began aching at the prospects of seeing her on Naruto's arm, but he had promised himself that if that did end up happening, he would be happy for her. Kiba loved her that much. All he wanted was her happiness; even if it meant she wouldn't be his.

Kiba had nearly ripped Naruto's head off when he saw him flirting with Sakura. It wasn't like it was something new or anything, but Kiba didn't want Hinata to see that and have her heart broken again, so he had been trying to find her, and distract her; maybe even convince her to change her mind about telling Naruto. But after searching for so many hours, he and Akamaru had yet to find her.

"Hinata." Kiba sighed, "Where are you?"

"I'm right here, Kiba-kun." Hinata's soft voice spoke behind him.

"Hinata!" Kiba turned to face the kunoichi. He couldn't bring himself to ask the question that plagued his mind; had she told him?

"Were you looking for me?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah." Kiba nodded, unusually nervous to stand before her.

"Well, was there something you needed?" Hinata asked.

"Umm…" Kiba hesitated. "What are you doing here?" Kiba asked.

"Huh?" Hinata looked startled. "Oh, I had something I wanted to say to you." She blushed lightly as she spoke.

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10. Musicbox – Regina Spektor 2:10  
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The Hyuga compound was like living inside of a well kept prison. There were rules and regulations for everything. Everyone dressed a certain way, spoke a certain way, and behaved in a certain way; all in conformity to the Hyuga tradition. It was an utterly boring existence!

Hinata longed to feel the breeze outside the high Hyuga walls, but being the Hyuga heir, she, more than anyone, was a prisoner to it's high demands. All she wanted was to run free, spin endlessly in the meadow fields. She wanted to leave behind the prime and proper and live in a wild and untamed world, not of her own.

"Hey Hinata, want to come out for a walk with me and Akamaru?" Kiba yelled out from below her window.

Hinata chewed on her lower lip… She couldn't possibly… could she?

Scanning the surrounding area to see if any of the Hyuga guards were near her bedroom window, she quickly leapt down to meet Kiba and Akamaru.

This was what she wanted; she wanted a carefree life, one completely different from her own.

And Kiba gave her just that.

* * *

**A/N**: damn it, I need longer songs! Lol…

**My thoughts**

**1**. Wow, such a short song… didn't get a chance to really get into it… oh well.. oh and I was talking about a Passion Flower. Might make this into a real fic later on.  
**2**. The KING baby!... lol… I liked it… wasn't going to bring Hinata in on that one at all, but then I did… fortunately had enough time before the song ended.  
**3**. That's such a perfect song, I could use it with any pairing I think.  
**4**. I know, it seems weird that it didn't have to do with the line "I can't win"… it would have, had the song been longer, but I mostly focused on the line "I'll be right back" in the song… I'm sure we can all guess what Kiba's about to do…  
**5**. Can you tell I love doing angsty KibaHina fics?... lol… it's always the same story… Hinata realizes Naruto will never be with her, and Kiba's the loyal friend who secret loves her.  
**6**. Lol… I'm sorry, as soon as I heard the first notes and I saw what song it was, I immediately imagined Kiba strutting down the street in all his male ego pride… and then I saw him fall flat on his face like a dork!... lol  
oh, and yeah… how could I NOT make Kakashi #1?... sorry, I love Kiba, but the only way anyone could beat Kakashi were if he was somehow disqualified. **XP  
7**. awww… I don't think Hiashi-sama would be very happy to know Kiba can climb up to her room through her window…  
**8**. I was going somewhere else with that, but then I realized the song was coming to an end, so I quickly closed it off…  
**9**. The song ended too soon! Too soon! (probably will become a real fic later on).  
**10**. agh… again, too short! But the song, so perfect for it… it just immediately made me think of a princess trapped in her tower, wanting to live among the commoners… and there's Kiba (the commoner/prince) come to her rescue, to teach her how wonderful life can be, outside the palace walls… **XP**


	4. ShikaTem

_**Character/pairing: ShikaTem**_… spectacularly short ones… sorry 'bout that… busted my thumb!

_**DEDICATION**_ – **Midnight Memories** (lol, I have a feeling I'm going to be making a habit of this XP)… thanks for the dedication in your ShikaTem story… Also, don't feel bad about that first review… some people are just… yeah…

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1. It's Now or Never – Elvis 3:14  
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All women were troublesome. That's what Nara Shikamaru always believed; that's why he tried to stay clear of all of them…

He wasn't one of those pretty boys, fighting off the girls like Neji or Sasuke, so he never imaged that someone like her would ever look his way.

All he ever wanted was an average life, with an average girl.

Temari was anything BUT average. She was unlike any girl he'd ever met. Sure, she was loud, obnoxious, bossy, mean, rude, and so many other adjectives he could think of… but she was also intelligent, strong, determined, beautiful…

He hated what she did to him. He couldn't get her out of his mind; being around her drove him insane. With each passing day… he felt more and more confused. As much as he hated exerting himself… he just had to tell her…

She was worth the trouble.

"Now or never." Shikamaru gathered his courage to walk up to the older kunoichi.

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2. Unsent – Alanis Morissette 4:10  
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_Dear Shika,  
I like you a lot._

Temari crumbled the paper and threw it in the trash

She'd never had any trouble telling a guy that she was attracted to, that she liked him… although… she'd never really "liked" a guy the way she liked Shikamaru. In fact, most guys she just kept around to toy with. But Shikamaru was NOT most guys. He was smart.

_Okay, maybe smart is a bit of an understatement._ Temari thought to herself.

Picking up another piece of paper, she began writing down a new sentence.

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3. Mrs. Robinson – Simon & Garfunkel 3:49  
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"Why Temari, are you trying to seduce me?" Shikamaru smirked knowingly, as he walked into the older kunoichi's hotel room in Konoha.

He had come to pick her up for her meeting with the Hokage like he always did. Being too lazy to remember to knock on the door, he accidentally walked in to find her pulling up the mesh stockings she wore, immediately reminding Shikamaru of a scene from an old movie he'd once seen.

"I can assure you, Nara, if I were trying to seduce you, you'd know it." Temari sensually licked her lips as she slowly made her way over toward the genius; a feral look in her honey eyes.

Something told him, his laziness in forgetting to knock, would be the best mistake his ever made.

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4. Supervixen – Garbage 3:55  
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"Temari." Shikamaru groaned through clenched teeth.

"Hmm." Temari moaned into his neck as she placed yet another kiss on her trail up his collarbone.

"I.said.no." Shikamaru forcefully groaned.

"umhm." Temari continued her ministrations, certain she would get her way, despite the Nara's protests.

"I won't do it." Shikamaru insisted, through labored breaths.

"Please?" she plead, between kisses.

"No." Shikamaru repeated, though his resolve seemed to be wavering.

"mmhm." Her moans sent shivers down his spine.

"FINE!" Shikamaru exclaimed, before exiting the room. "Troublesome." He muttered under his breath.

"He is so whipped!" Temari smirked, as she watched the lazy shinobi leave to run an errand for her.

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5. We've Got A Mess On Our Hands – The Academy is... 3:26  
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"You die now." Gaara growled from the doorway; an equally angry looking Kankuro stood beside his younger brother.

_Why me?_ Shikamaru asked himself as he pulled his pants up and ran out the window at a speed faster than anyone would have ever imagined him capable of.

Behind him, Gaara and Kankuro chased after, followed by a disheveled Temari, who was trying to stop her brothers from killing the shadow manipulator.

_Why does this always happen_? Shikamaru asked himself as he ran for his life.

No matter how much he wanted to avoid trouble; how much he wanted a nice, normal, PEACEFUL life, he always seemed to find himself in destructive situations. And usually, they all revolved around _**her**_.

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6.**__** Me Muero Por Conocerte – La Oreja de Van Gogh 5:11  
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_Stay_. That's what Shikamaru wanted to tell her. He wanted to pull her into him, hold her, and never let her go; but he didn't.

They had been standing in silence at the main gates of Konoha for twenty minutes. She had been in the village for a week, attending to her duties as the Suna liaison; he had been her escort. They had spent endless hours together, talking about everything and anything. They had discussed the political aspects of the Konoha/Suna alliance; what she thought about the village; how she thought things were going. She had told him about what her life was like in Suna; what it was like to be the Kazekage's sister. She had told him everything about her childhood; how hard it was to grow up with a tyrannical father; how much better things were now. She opened up to him completely; and somehow, she had even managed to get _**him**_ to open up about himself.

Hours spent talking endlessly; and yet, he still found himself wanting to know more. He wanted to know everything there was about her. But he couldn't bring himself to tell her; not yet…

"Will you be back?" Shikamaru finally broke the silence.

"Yeah." Temari smiled, happy to hear he wanted to see her again too.

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7. Cold Hard Bitch – Jet 4:03  
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"Shikamaru?" Chouji looked at his best friend questioningly.

"Don't.Ask." Shikamaru growled through clenched teeth.

"Oh, my gawd." Ino tried to suppress her laughter.

"What happened to you?" Tenten asked, as the rest of the group stared astonishingly at the lazy shinobi.

"Hn." Shikamaru tightened his jaw, not wanting to talk.

"I think it looks very youthful!" Lee cheerfully exclaimed.

"…" after a few minutes of staring, Naruto fell into a fit of laughter.

"I can't believe you let her do that to your hair." Sakura mouthed quietly, as she stared along with the rest of them at the four pigtails Temari had wrapped Shikamaru's hair into.

"You are so whipped." Kiba stated, before joining Naruto in his mockery of the Nara genius.

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8. Fidelity – Regina Spektor 3:45  
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When it came to the male of her species, Temari had never had any problem getting her way. They were easy, and she loved toying with them. But she always kept herself well grounded; never allowed herself to get too carried away with any one guy.

Having grown up with a tyrannical father; bearing witness to the abusive relationship her mother had had with the man, she had closer her heart off to the rest of the world. Many considered her cold hearted, but she didn't care; better to be thought a bitch, then to leave one's heart open to the mercy of another.

But all that changed when she met Shikamaru. He wasn't like the rest. From the very beginning he had fascinated her. Sure, he'd had those annoying sexist notions of what a man's role and what a woman's role were; but she could tell, even then, he didn't buy it either. Despite his backward thinking, he never once treated her as anything but an equal.

She wasn't sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way the admiration she held for the younger shinobi had turned into something more.

Temari had never been in love, so she wasn't sure if it was love; but whatever it was, it hurt.

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9. This Love – Maroon 5 4:26  
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Shikamaru couldn't remember how many goodbyes' they had shared over the course of their relationship. He had tired his best to keep her from saying what he knew she would, but ultimately, they both knew that a long distance relationship just wasn't going to work. The night before, she had told him as much; letting him know that this would be the final goodbye they ever shared, she wouldn't be putting herself through this again. They would just have to move on without each other.

All night, Shikamaru's mind had not allowed him to sleep. He didn't want it to end this way. The woman drove him insane; he hated to admit it, but he loved her. He didn't know if he _could_ go on without her.

"Stay." Shikamaru broke the silence.

"A few more days won't change anything." Temari replied.

"No." Shikamaru shook his head. "I don't mean just a few days."

"…" Temari looked at him questioningly.

"Stay with me." He moved to her, pulling to him. "forever." He said, before bringing his lips down to meet hers.

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10. Basket Case – Greenday 3:03  
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"Ah, this is so annoying." Temari huffed from beside Shikamaru.

"Then leave." He said, though he didn't really mean it.

"I just don't get what it is you like about this." Temari ignored his comment.

The two had been laying on the grass for over an hour, staring up at the passing clouds.

"I mean, what's the point?" Temari asked, stretching out on her spot in the grass.

"There is no point." Shikamaru replied catching the kunoichi's movements out of the corner of his eye, "It just is what it is."

"You should be doing something productive, like training." Temari argued. "Or at least having some fun."

"This is fun for me." Shikamaru countered.

"It's a waste of time." Temari pouted.

"Exactly." Shikamaru replied.

"That makes no sense at all." Temari sat up, turning to him curiously.

"It's not supposed to." Shikamaru lazily replied.

"You know…" Temari crept closer to the lazy shinobi. "I could think a few other ways to waste time."

"Oh?" Shikamaru turned his gaze toward her.

"Something fun," She said, as she began crawling closer toward him, "and we'd get a work out in the process." She smiled wickedly.

* * *

**A/N**: is it just me, or did a lot of these come out rather pervy?... lol… It's SO much harder to type fast with a splint on your thumb!... oh well…

**What I thought  
**1. Not what I expected, but I liked the last line…  
2. Oh that sucked!  
3. lol… though song has nothing to do with that, but immediately my thoughts were "the graduate!"… older woman trying to seduce younger man… so ShikaTem…  
4. Hehehe… that one was funny… and she would have so whipped!  
5. Damn thumb! That would so have been funnier if I'd had more time… XP … I want more Gaara!  
6. I like… it goes well with the song…  
7. I'm on crack! (no, make that painkillers!) hahahaha… The song actually would have gone better for the #4 story, but since I'd already done that, I kind of just continued it, sort of… lol… "just a kiss on the lips" and she's got him on his knees! XP … Shika's so whipped!  
8. huh… yeah… no really thoughts on this one… not sure if I like or dislike… guess because I didn't really have enough time to really get into any real story there… oh well…  
9. I loved that one… I think it's the first ShikaTem kiss I've ever written… and it goes rather well with # 6…  
10. I end, where the song ends… but if it'd been up to me… that would have kept going **XP** … a good #10 if you ask me XD


	5. Gaara

_**Character/pairing: GAARA!**_ (my first character drabble set… lets see how it goes)

_**DEDICATION**_ – **Apple Bubblegum**. Thanks for all your reviews, hope you it! **XD**

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1. Mother – John Lennon (4:51)  
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_Mother_. The voice within him began growling.

_Where are you mother?_ The aching feeling in his chest began to intensify. He could feel the growing rage.

"_MOTHER!"_ Gaara screamed at the top of his lungs; venom pouring out of the single word.

He had loved; no, WORSHIPED his mother when he was younger. Even knowing that she had really hated him, hadn't changed that. All he had ever wanted was a mother, someone to take care of him, someone to hold him; someone to love him.

"Gaara." A whisper, belonging to a female, came from his bedroom door.

"You okay?" a male voice came out from beside the female.

Gaara heard footsteps approaching his bedside. He felt weight on either side of him, as his two older siblings lay down on opposite sides of his bed.

So much had changed over the years. And even though he didn't have a mother, at least he was beginning to have people who loved him.

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2. I Found A Reason – Car Power (2:00)  
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Gaara stared out into the endless desert. He had just been chosen to be the new Kazekage. He wasn't really sure how he felt about that. Gaara knew that the reason the counsel had elected him was partly because they wanted to be able to control him; and that didn't sit too well with the redhead.

It had been a couple of years since he had met Uzamaki Naruto, and his life had begun to change; yet many in the village still feared him. He was used to that though. Gaara knew that people didn't change over night; he himself had had some difficulties in his new role. But he had been determined to see a better tomorrow. What came before had to be forgotten, because the future had to be better.

"So…" Kankuro spoke up from behind Gaara, "Are you going to accept the nomination or not?"

"Yes." Gaara firmly decided.

"It's going to be a lot of work." Kankuro pointed.

"I know." Gaara nodded.

"Many people won't be very accepting." Kankuro warned.

"I know." Gaara replied.

"But you're still going to do it?" Kankuro asked.

"Yes." Gaara replied. He would prove to everyone that he was not the beast they feared him to be.

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3. Mr. Sandman – The Chordettes (2:21)  
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Kankuro walked into the kitchen, watching as his younger brother knocked over a large ceramic jar. It seemed there were a lot of those in the kitchen; or at least there had been, given that the constant crashing of ceramic on tile floor had been the reason the puppet-master had been lured into the kitchen at 3am in the first place.

"What's wrong with him?" Kankuro asked Temari, who had already been observing Gaara from the doorway when Kankuro arrived.

"Hasn't slept in a five days." Temari replied expressionlessly.

"So?" Kankuro scoffed, "nothing new there."

"He's been drinking coffee to keep himself awake." Temari blankly replied, her gaze trained on the redhead.

"That can't be good." Kankuro replied, cringing as yet another jar came crashing down.

"Nope." Temari shook her head as she answered.

"He looking for more coffee?" Kankuro asked, wondering why his younger brother was climbing cabinets and shelves and shoving jars onto the tile floor.

"No." Temari replied.

"…" Kankuro turned to look at his sister, but her gaze remained fixed on the crazed shinobi in front of them. "Well?" he asked.

"Cookies." Temari informed him.

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4. The Package – A Perfect Circle (7:38)  
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"What's that?" Kankuro pointed at the box sitting on the kazekage's desk.

"Box." Gaara simply replied.

"I can see that." Kankuro rolled his eyes, "I meant, what's _inside_ the box?"

"Not sure." Gaara stared at the box.

"Open it." Kankuro urged.

"No." Gaara replied.

"Why not?" Kankuro curiously asked.

"…" Gaara wouldn't answer; instead, chose to glare at the bright green package as if it would explode at any minute.

"Who's it from?" Kankuro asked.

"Doesn't say." Gaara answered.

"But it was addressed to you?" Kankuro wondered.

"…" Gaara nodded.

"Then why won't you open it?" Kankuro pressed.

"It's green." Gaara replied, as if that were enough to satisfy the question.

"So?" Kankuro replied, reaching out to grab the package.

"No." Gaara used his sand to block his brother from reaching the box.

"What's your problem?" Kankuro demanded, rubbing his hand where the sand had grabbed him.

"…" Gaara continued to stare down the offending box.

"You're such a freak." Kankuro shook his head incredulously before walking out of the office, leaving his insane brother to glare at the box.

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5. Letterbomb – Greenday (3:47)  
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Little Gaara watched as the other kids played with a ball. He sat silently on the lone swing with his teddy bear. No one ever let him play with them.

His uncle had been the only one to care about him before; but then Gaara found out that even_**he**_ had feared the boy. Now baby Gaara was all alone again.

"We don't need them, do we Teddy?" Gaara hugged his friend closer to him, as they swung back and forth.

They would pay; one day, the whole village would burn, if he had anything to say about it.

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6. Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major – Mozart (10:01)  
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Being the Kazekage, Gaara was often required to go to many social events. Never having been very good at socializing, he often invited his siblings to accompany him.

Tonight was an unusual outing. He had been given tickets to an opera that had recently arrived in Suna. Not knowing anything about Opera himself, Gaara was unsure as to whether he would enjoy it or not, but he had gone nonetheless.

As the night wore on, Gaara began growing increasingly sleepy from the music in the background; deciding it would be best not to listen as intently, lest he fall victim to the soft notes that had already lulled his brother Kankuro to sleep, and he did not have the luxury of being able to get bored to sleep, Gaara instead turned his attention to the group sharing his balcony seats.

Having received more tickets than necessary, Temari had convinced him to invite her best friend, Tenten, and her team, to join in the social outing. The group had been scheduled to arrive the night prior to the event, and thus the timing had worked out perfectly.

Observing the Konoha shinobi, Gaara wondered how it was that they all came to be friends of the sand siblings. With Temari and Tenten, it was simple enough to understand; both kunoichi shared a common feminist outlook, and both were fascinated by weaponry; though, admittedly, the Konoha kunoichi's obsession far surpassed even that of his sister. Due to this, it was not that difficult to see the two fierce kunoichi forming a strong friendship, after their initial meeting in the chunin exams.

What _was_ unusual was Gaara and Lee's friendship. It had started out similar to that of the two girls, given that they had been matched up against one another in the preliminary exams, and similar to Temari's near fatal blow to Tenten, Gaara had also nearly crushed Lee into oblivion. Yet both Konoha ninja had seemed to hold no animosity toward the sand siblings. Shortly after the return of her teammates from the failed attempt at rescuing the Uchiha, Tenten had approached Temari in the hospital and struck up a conversation with the Suna kunoichi, as if nothing had ever transpired. Lee, on the other hand, had openly informed and blamed Gaara, for the hardship of which he had subjected the bowl-headed shinobi; yet at the same time, there had been no actual resentment in his tone when informing him of the facts. It was strange.

Somehow, the two had grown to be really good friends. It was different from Gaara's friendship with Naruto; Naruto and he shared a common past that made their friendship understandable, even if their personalities where drastically different. On the other hand, Lee and Gaara _**didn't**_ share that common past; and what's more, Lee was even more happy-go-lucky than Naruto. It made no logical sense at all that Gaara and he would form such a strong friendship; it would have made more sense to pair Gaara with Neji, who shared a similar personality to the young Kazekage. Yet, it was Lee to whom Gaara had grown more attached to.

He still couldn't quite understand it…

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7. Split Personality – Pink (4:05)  
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'_**Do it!**_ a growling voice inside him ordered.

'_I refuse_.' Gaara angrily snarl inside his head.

'_**Do it...**_ Shukaku urged.

'_Hn.'_ Gaara remained unmoved, though his sleepless eyes remained fixed on the figure before him.

'_**She should be punished.**_ The tailed beast continued it's taunting.

'…' Gaara agreed, but he refused to do that.

'_**You know you want to.**_ The giant raccoon inside him insisted.

"NO." Gaara growled, his jaw visibly tense.

"No?" Temari turned up from her cup of tea to face her brother.

"Hn." Gaara replied, ignoring the mocking laughter in his head.

"Something wrong Gaara?" Temari asked her younger brother, before taking another sip of her tea.

"…" Gaara got up and left the room without explanation.

"What's his problem?" Temari turned to face their other brother, who had been quietly eating his breakfast, observing the two.

"You ate the last cookie." Kankuro stated blankly.

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8. Panda Panda Panda – Deerhoof (2:41)  
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"What?" Gaara had grown tired of having the Konoha kunoichi staring at him for the past ten minutes.

Usually, he didn't mind having Tenten around; though generally she only ever came to see his sister, and, outside of meals, they rarely spent more than a minute or two together, and hardly ever was it just the two of them by themselves. But for some reason, Temari had been taking longer than necessary on her last errand, so Gaara had been obliged to keep the bun-haired kunoichi company until his sister's arrival.

They had exchanged pleasantries upon greeting, but for the most part, the half an hour since she had arrived had been spent in silence. He was used to that, so he hadn't felt awkward; surprisingly, she hadn't seemed unnerved by it either. Gaara rationalized that it was no doubt due to her association with the equally stoic Hyuga, that she didn't feel uncomfortable around him.

It wasn't until ten minutes ago that Tenten had begun staring intently at him. That _**did**_ agitate the young Kazekage.

"Is there something you needed?" Gaara asked the girl.

"No." she cheerfully shook her head as she replied.

"…" Gaara fixed his gaze to match hers, in hopes of intimidating her to stop looking at him.

However, his efforts failed to accomplish his objective, so eventually Gaara turned his attention back to the paperwork in front of him.

"You know…" Tenten began speaking after a few more moments of silence.

Gaara turned up to face the weapons mistress.

"You're eyes make you look like a panda bear." Tenten finally said.

"…" Gaara blinked in confusion for a few minutes, before turning to look at her questioningly.

He wasn't really sure what to do with that strange piece of information. With her twin buns, which resembled a panda's ears, Gaara, like many others, had often thought the very same thing about the kunoichi herself. It seemed odd that _she_ would be comparing someone else to the black and white mammal.

"I like pandas." Tenten smiled warmly.

_Strange girl_. Gaara concluded, before returning his attention to the papers before him.

_**-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-  
9. Crawling – Linkin Park (3:23)  
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All his life, Gaara had only ever been seen for the monster that lived inside of him; but now that the one-tailed beast was no longer trapped within him, Gaara wasn't really sure, what to do.

Who was he?

What was he?

For so long, Shukaku had been a part of him, that Gaara wasn't sure what it meant to be no longer be that monster.

Was he someone else now? Or was he the same person he had always been?

He could swear he still felt the demon crawling under the surface, but he knew it wasn't there. This confused him.

"You're Gaara." Naruto smiled from beside him. "Same freaky sand guy we know and love." His smile got wider.

"Thank you." Gaara smiled back.

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10. One Way or Another – Blondie (3:28)  
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"WHAT THE HELL?" A shout, following a large boom, emanated from Temari's room; echoing through the Kazekage mansion.

"What's wrong?" Kankuro asked, as he and a number of shinobi guards came to the kunoichi's room to investigate the commotion. "Are you alri—"

Kankuro and the other shinobi froze upon entering the fan-wielder's bed chamber. The sight before them was enough to send even the most humorless person into a laughing coma. But, out of a desire to preserve their own lives, the shinobi remained expressionless; biting the inside of their cheeks to suppress any sound from escaping.

"Who…" a visibly trembling Temari began, but her rising anger would not allow her finish what she had to say.

"Ummm…" Kankuro cautiously stepped forward, very aware that he was no doubt putting his own life at risk at that very moment.

"Don't." Temari heatedly voiced her command, stopping him from approaching her; she was clearly trying to restrain her rage.

"Next time you'll think twice." Gaara somberly spoke from the doorway, having just moments earlier arrived to take in the scene.

Temari angrily shook; ready to explode at any given moment. Her stiffly blown back hair, along with her face and entire front were covered in the same orange goop that had been splattered across her room, clearly indicating that something had blown up in her face.

"You." She turned toward the doorway, but Gaara had already walked way.

"Shouldn't have eaten his last cookie." Kankuro shook his head earnestly.

Temari turned to Kankuro, a heated glare on her face. "Run." She warned.

* * *

**A/N**: OMG… that was soooo much fun… hahahaha… especially #10!

COOKIES! (so starting to love the insanity of crack-fics **XP**)

**What I thought:**

**1**. love John Lennon, Love the Beatles… love the original version of this song, but I kind of prefer Christina Aguilera's cover to this song… but only by a tinie-tiny-miniscule bit… the original is still amazing! I was considering going darker with this song… but then, time constraints people! I just went with my impulse and this is what came out… not too bad I guess… but darker would have worked nicely I think…

**2**. It's such a somber song… I think the drabble suited it…

**3**. OMG, I laughed so hard when this one came on… it was like my Neji-panic moment when "Sexyback" came on… too many choices! …lol… Gaara's looking for cookies for his coffee!... lol…

**4**. I think the box came from Lee… and I think Gaara might be terrified of what's inside… XP… either that, or the cookies have begun melting his brain! Oh cookies!

**5**. That was… definitely darker than the others… but the song has this intro that goes "Nobody likes you, everyone left you, they're all out without you, having fun…" in a really creepy little kids voice… so that's how I got this idea…

**6**. I think that all stoic/serious characters need goofy/weird best friends… or basically their exact opposites.… think of Neji and Lee, Sasuke and Naruto, Shino and Kiba, KAKASHI and Gai!... hello! Anyone notice a pattern?

**7**. No one steals Gaara's cookies and lives! Mwahahahaha… had to have some Shukaku in there…

**8**. lol… I would swear there was something wrong with my brain here… but really… Panda Panda Panda, is a VERY odd song (basically all it is, is a repetitive singing of the word Panda, with an occasional 'China' and an 'I Like' thrown in there somewhere). **XP** and really, how could I not use Tenten for this one?

**9**. Such a good song for Gaara… but I just couldn't think what to do with it… so that's what came out… plus I wanted to use Naruto in at least one of the drabbles.

**10**. Poor Kankuro, should have kept his mouth shut… like I said… NO ONE STEALS GAARA'S COOKIES!


	6. SasuSaku

_**Character/pairing: Sasuke and Sakura…  
WARNING: **_not used to doing this pairing, AT ALL!

_**DEDICATION**_ – to **Nichi Nara**… I hope you like it… despite… yeah… it… yeah…

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**__**1. In Bloom – Nirvana (4:15)  
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**_

I loved Sasuke-kun since the day I first saw him. He was so cute, and smart, and cute, and talented, and cute, and popular, and did I mention cute?

He's always had a horde of fangirls chasing after him, which really annoys me because everyone knows that Sasuke and I are meant to be! Cha!

I just got paired up with him to be in the same genin cell; they always pair up the best male and female rookies… I guess they must know something. The only down side is that that baka Naruto is also in our group. He's SO annoying! Well, as long as he stays out of my way, I don't care.

Just as long as Sasuke's there with me, that's all that matters.

'_sigh_' Look at him. He's so cute!...

_**-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-  
**__**2. Take it or Leave it – The Strokes (3:16)  
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**_

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura batted her eyelashes seductively as she approached the brooding Uchiha.

"Hn." Sasuke looked up from his spot on the pier.

"Have you eaten lunch yet?" Sakura asked with a polite smile.

"Yes." Sasuke replied disinterestedly as he stared out into the lake.

"Oh." Sakura somberly pouted. "Well would you like to go for a walk with me?"

"Hn." Sasuke kept his attention on the lake, dipping his feet into the water below.

Sakura waited for him to say something, but as always, the raven haired shinobi just ignored her.

"Do you mind if I sit down?" Sakura asked, receiving a shrug from the Uchiha.

Sitting down, Sakura inched closer to Sasuke. He didn't seem to mind, or at least gave no indication. It hurt her sometimes that he never showed any signs that he might share in her feels, or even bothered to acknowledge her, but she figured that was more than anyone else ever got form him; she could either take it or leave it. She chose to take it… who knew, maybe one day he'd be able to warm up to her.

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**__**3. Blackout – Muse (4:22)  
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**_

Sasuke sat resting against the log Naruto had been tied to when they first formed as a group. He had already been waiting for fifteen minutes for his team to arrive; attempting to suppress his frustration at being kept waiting by meditating. It didn't really work; his mind kept wandering.

It was not surprising that Kakashi was late, because, seriously, when wasn't he? Naruto was probably running late because he forgot where he left his ramen coupon, which was undoubtedly under his forehead protector, as always. What surprised Sasuke was that the kunoichi of his tem was late; Sakura was NEVER late.

"I wonder what could be taking her so long." He asked himself aloud.

So what if she was late. It wasn't like he cared though.

_Whatever_. He shrugged.

And it's not like he even had time for a girlfriend, after all, his only mission in life was to get revenge on _**him**_. Besides, Sakura was just as bad as any of his other fangirls. Always giggling, or talking about herself, or fawning over him, or pretending to like things he liked to get him to notice her. It annoyed him. _**She**_ annoyed him.

_Especially how she's always batting her eyes_. He thought to himself._ And how she pouts her lips._ The thought of her full, moist lips…

_Agh._ Sasuke sighed irritatedly.

"Hey Sasuke-kun." Sakura approached from behind the post.

"Why are you late?" Sasuke asked.

"Huh?" Sakura turned to look at him questioningly.

"Nothing." Sasuke replied, returning to his meditative pose. _Like I care_.

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**__**4. Hold Me Now –The Polyphonic Spree (4:06)  
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**_

"_You cannot defeat me." The sinister shadow loomed over Sasuke, smirking mockingly. "Just give up little brother."_

"_You're supposed to be dead." Sasuke glared up at Itachi. _

"_Did you really think that would be the end of me?" Itachi slowly approached the fallen shinobi._

_He had thought it had ended all those years ago. Sasuke had found his revenge and moved on with his life. How was this possible? How could it end this way?_

_His arms and legs would not respond to the commands his brain gave them. He had used up too much of his chakra. _

_It was hopeless. _

"_You're weak little brother." Itachi smirked. "Just like your wife and your child."_

"_NOOOO!" _

Sasuke bolted up in bed, drenched in his sweat.

"Sasuke." The woman beside him rose; a look of concern in her eyes. "Was it the dream again?"

"Hn." Sasuke nodded, as he tried steadying his breath.

"It's just a dream. Itachi's dead." She reassured him. "He can't hurt you any more."

"I know that Sakura," Sasuke replied.

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**__**5. Pale September – Fiona Apple (5:47)  
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**_

September. That's when he left. When he abandoned the village, and went to Orochimaru.

I can still remember the moment clearly. The darkness and coldness of the night, as he turned his back on us, and left without looking back. Just as the leaves on the trees began dieing, and the colors of the world began turning pale; so too, did my heart slowly lose it's color.

On the surface, I cried. I cried until I had no more tears to cry. But on the inside, that was where the true pain went unseen. I had loved him so much, and he left. I couldn't change his mind. I couldn't stop him from leaving.

My whole world turned to ice. Without him…

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**__**6. I Thought She Knew – NSYNC (3:23)  
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**_

How could she not know? She was the only one I said goodbye to. I knew she would be there. Perhaps I did take her for granted sometimes; I certainly wasn't as vocal about my affectionation as Naruto, but I thought she knew.

Sure, I thought she was annoying when we first got paired in the same cell, but I did think she was cute. She grew on me.

During the survival part of the chunin exams, it wasn't just the curse mark that had given me the strength or the rage to break that guy's arms… it was because he hurt her. And it was because she asked me to stop, as she embraced me from behind… that was the only reason I didn't kill them all.

I thought she knew. But I should have known better; I should have told her when I had the chance.

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**__**7. In My Place – Coldplay (3:46)  
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**_

It had been years since Sasuke had abandoned the village. News had spread of his victory over Orochimaru and Itachi, yet he still hadn't returned.

_Sasuke-kun, where are you_? Sakura asked herself.

She sat on the bench where she had last seen Sasuke; on a night similar to the present one. It was the very same bench where he had laid her down; after he knocked her out. It was where he had said goodbye.

Everyone else told her to give up on him; to move on. But she couldn't.

"How much longer do I have to wait for you, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura sighed, leaning her head back on the concrete bench.

"You don't have to wait any longer." A deep voice broke the dark silence of the night.

_**-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-  
**__**8. My Immortal – Evanescence (4:24)  
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**_

"I'm so tired of this." Sakura complained out loud, as she walked back from her night shift at the hospital. "From now on, no more thinking about Sasuke!" she forcefully stated.

_Right, like that's going to happen._

"It will." Sakura shook her head determinedly.

_Riiight…_

"It has to." Sakura stated, with a little less certainty in her voice. "I can't keep doing this to myself."

_I agree. We can't... We've already suffered too much_.

"We have." Sakura somberly replied, as she brought a hand up to her heart.

_He's gone, and he's not coming back._

"And yet his memory still haunts my every moment." Sakura mournfully lamented. "Why won't he just leave me alone?"

_Because you don't really want to let him go._

"No." Sakura agreed. "I don't." she wiped away a tear that began rolling down her cheek.

_I'm bound to him, whether I like it or not. It doesn't matter how much I fight myself; He's still with me, and yet I've been alone all this time._

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**__**9. Always – Blink182 (4:12)  
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**_

Sasuke was aware he had given up a lot when he left the village. He had broken bonds that had taken a long time to form. After the massacre of his family, he had had a difficult time allowing others to enter his heart; and yet he had found new precious people. But they kept him from his goal. He was too happy with them; too content. He had forgotten his ambition, and for that reason he had to let them go. He had to sever all his ties to focus only on Itachi.

But on nights like these, he missed them. Most of all, he missed her. He missed her smile, her laugh… her annoying yelling.

He wished there could have been another way; but there wasn't. As much as he wanted to be near her, to see her smile, to hear her voice, to hold her, to kiss her… It just wasn't possible…

_Maybe when I'm done_. He reasoned. _If she's still waiting…_ Maybe then, he could be with Sakura.

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**__**10. You and Me – Lifehouse (3:14)  
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**_

"Sakura."

Time stood still as Sakura held in her breath; instantly recognizing whose voice that belonged to.

"I'm back."

She turned to face him, but it seemed endless. It was as if she continued to turn, like in a movie; the same movement shown repetitively thought different angles.

He was back. Finally, after so many years, the boy she had falling in love with had finally returned to her.

"SASUKE!" the tears ran down her face as she raced into his arms.

Everything that had happened… none of it mattered anymore.

Here, in this perfect moment, all that there was, was him and her.

_Just you and me_. Sakura smiles as he held her in her arms.

She hugged him as tightly as she could, as if she couldn't trust her own eyes that he was really there; that he had really returned. He surprised her by hugging back with equal force; as if he'd longed to do it for some time.

It was prefect; she was happy. And then he kissed her…

* * *

**A/N**: Yeah… I don't think I'll be doing anymore SasuSaku any time soon… I "don't really buy it"… and I think it does show in these drabbles… sorry for that SasuSaku fans… :( …I tired… I really did… eventually I even had to force myself to pretend it was Neji and Tenten that I was writing for… that kind of helped… but I was still very aware it was SasuSaku… oh well.. I guess it just goes to show that if it's not a pairing that I'm absolutely in love with already, I can't really write it that well… :( … maybe I just need to read more SasuSaku stories to really get into them… any one got any suggestions on **good** fics?

**What I thought:**

**1**. For those of you who actually like Sasuke and Sakura, take this drabble on it's face as a cute little insight into Sakura's thoughts about the Uchiha… but for my own amusement (me not being much of a Sasuke fan), and if anyone got the joke in this one… lol… kudos to you!... I just couldn't help myself… I mean, come on… it's Nirvana's In Bloom, how could I not do it parody-ish?…lol…

**2**. It's just the lyrics… song title… that drove the story, so I couldn't help it…

**3**. Ok… well that one was bit more… okay… I felt like I was getting there… working my way toward fluff… I was going with the line "don't kid yourself"…

**4**. Song ended, not sure what else I would have written though… It was going well though… This one definitely showed more promise than the pervious ones…

**5**. It's the song… Couldn't do happy with that song… oh… and just so we're clear, I have no idea what month Sasuke left… I just picked September because it was in the song. Oh, and obviously this is from Sakura's POV.

**6**. Yes, Yes, Yes… I know! I have NSYNC in my playlist… You can stop laughing now…I was in high school; they were big… it's not like you could avoid all that music of the 90s… ok… done defending myself XP… actually though, this one is a prefect song for this pairing… and of course, obviously from Sasuke's POV.

**7**. omg, another perfect song for them… and that one… I actually kind of liked…

**8**. I'm SORRY!.. I think even my Ipod is against the whole SasuSaku pairing… it just kept giving me these songs! And yes… I am aware that I did the whole 'INNER' story… and I know I previously mentioned I hate those (which I do!)… but I didn't do it like all the other ones out there where the character (and I say character because people don't limit it to just Sakura, even though it is just her thing) practically seems like they're going insane because some mysterious voice starts talking to them… hello! Inner voice, you're supposed to be aware it's there… and it's not talking TO you, you're talking with it… weighing out the options… At least that's how I use **my** inner voice… or rather… voices (for some reason growing up, I gave myself 3 inner voices… call them, my "ME-MYSELF-and I" if you will… I call them my inner tribunal… one's the logical one, ones the emotional one, and the other is the confused me whose trying to figure out what they're both arguing…) XP  
you know, now that I think about it… maybe that's why I hate the whole "INNER" stories… they kind of make a mockery of my approach to dealing with issues… huh…

**9**. Kind of wish I'd described where he was sitting, like near a window, looking up into the sky… or maybe day time, watching some Sakura blossoms falling to the ground… I don't know… it needed something more…

**10**. I considered not adding the last sentence, but I think that was the only "kiss" in the whole drabble set… I needed one… and I needed to end the set on a good note… so there you have it… hope it wasn't too lame…


	7. NejiTen2

_**Character/pairing: NejiTen… **_

_**DEDICATION**_ – To my good buddy **Shadeehue**... thanks for reviewing all my chapters… you're awesome… and on an additional note I encourage EVERYONE reading this to go check out Shandeehue's NejiTen High school fic (**When Neji Met Tenten**)… it's so CUTE (and you all know I don't like AU's, so that's saying A LOT!) … (_note_: I do this for my own benefit more than for yours Sara, I want more people to read it and demand you update faster… lol)

* * *

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_**_**1.**__** Vivo en Sueños – Reik (3:12)  
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_**

I image, when we're together, that she _**is**_ my girlfriend. As I walk beside her, and none of the other guys dare approach her, because they see my looming shadow standing protectively over her, it makes me think they know. They know, though I've never said it, that she's mine.

We're always together; sparing, missions, lunches. There's hardly a moment in each day when I'm not by her side. And that's where I want to be.

Every moment spent with her, brings me endless pleasure. Her smile, her laugh, her light; it's what I live for; the reason I wake up each morning.

Being with her is like living in a dream. A dream I thought I'd never want to wake up from.

But I'm tired of _imagining_, and I'm tired of _dreaming_ of what it might be like. Now, I want the real thing.

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_**_**2. Love Fool – The Cardigan (3:18)  
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_**

This is becoming too hard; I don't know what else I can do. I'm with him all day; every day. And yet, he still won't notice me.

I've always been satisfied with just having him near; spending every possible moment with him. But that's not enough anymore. I need more; I want more. I've spent too many countless nights crying away my heartache; praying and begging that one day he'll finally see me the way that I see him.

Maybe everyone's right; maybe to him I'll always just be that bun-haired girl he trains with. Maybe he doesn't even see me as a girl at all; just a weapon at his disposal. They all tell me to forget about him; to find someone who deserves me. But he _does_ deserve me. If only he'd love me.

I don't care about anyone else; there's only him. But what more can I do? It hurts too much to stay by his side and not have him see me.

I love him so much.

But I'd rather be somewhere else, then sitting beside him, yet so far from his heart…

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_**_**3. Last Chance – Jet (1:53)  
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_**

"Neji." Tenten approached the meditating shinobi.

"Hn?" Neji opened an eye to peer at the kunoichi standing directly in front of him.

She looked nervous to him. Her posture was not as erect as she usually held herself; rather, more slouched, as if she wasn't as confident about what she was going to say as she normally would be. Neji noticed her playing with a loose strand of hair; a habit she developed, when she was embarrassed about something. Her usually smooth features, were distorted, in a pensive look. It was clear to the Hyuga that there was something she needed to get off her chest.

"What is it Tenten?" Neji finally asked, hoping it would force her to speak up.

"I can't train today." Tenten informed him. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" she turned and began running toward her house, "bye!" she waved as she disappeared through the trees.

_Why couldn't I just tell him?_

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_**_**4. First Date – Blink 182 (2:51)  
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_**

Tenten was nervous; she had a date. To make things worst, it was blind date. Ino and Sakura who had been the ones to pressure her into it; they'd even set it all up. Considering everyone knew that Ino and Sakura were incapable of keeping anything a secret, it was surprising that they had actually been pretty good about keeping the identity of her blind date a secret; though Tenten had tried numerous time's to scare it out of them. But she hadn't been able to get a peep out.

The fact that she was supposed to go out with some completely unknown guy was bad enough, but more than that, this was actually Tenten's first real date.

She had always been so focused on training with Neji, that she had never had time for much of a real social life. And what's more, she had spent so much time pinning over Neji that she had never even looked at any other guys.

Now, there she was, sitting at the restaurant that Ino and Sakura had told her to meet her blind date, and yet all she could think about, was him.

"Hello." A gravelly voice greeted from behind her.

Turning to see who the owner of the voice was, Tenten was shocked to see the man standing before her. She couldn't imagine why or how Ino and Sakura had managed to pull this one off, but one thing was for certain, this was definitely going to be a very interested afternoon.

**_-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-  
_**_**5. Suddenly I See – K.T. Tunstall (3:21)  
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_**

This wasn't happening.

Neji stood dumbfounded at the image before him.

He had decided to figure out why Tenten had bailed on him at the last minute, but what he discovered, he never would have expected.

Standing a few yards in front of him, was his crush, with another guy; and not just any guy.

Though every muscle in Neji's body wanted to beat the living daylights out of this him, he couldn't. Neji had always been confident that no one would ever approach Tenten; they were all too intimidating by the Hyuga's looming presence to even attempt to talk to the weapon's mistress. However, he had never imaged that this could happen. In front of him, the one man he couldn't touch, was sitting closely next to Tenten; both apparently enjoying a pleasant afternoon out.

Gaara.

Suna's Kazekage. One man, Neji could not lay a hand on. It wasn't that he didn't think he could take him. No, with the fury building in him, Neji was sure he could crush the powerful redhead. But he couldn't. Suna was an ally of Konoha; if Neji even so much as attempted to touch the young Kazekage, he was sure to have **both** villages on his back.

As he watched the couple engaging in what appeared to be an intimate conversation, Neji suddenly saw the truth; he had waited too long…

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_**_**6**__**. Perdido Sin Ti – Ricky Martin (4:11)  
**_**_-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-  
_**

Neji cursed his fate. How could this have happened? The only woman he had ever loved, and he'd lost her, without every having had her.

It had only been a few days since Tenten's date with the Kazekage, but already everyone was talking about the possibilities that she might leave for Suna. If that happened, Neji was sure he would lose himself. He knew if she ever left, he would fall into a pit of despair. She had been his sole source of happiness; his reason for smiling (as rare an occurrence as it was). He couldn't image life without her.

But what could he do? If she chose to leave; how could he stop her?

He cursed himself for having waiting so long. He had taken her for granted, and now had lost her forever.

**_-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-  
_**_**7. Just for a Moment – Aqualung (4:04)  
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_**

"Tenten." Neji was surprised to see the kunoichi as she approached their training field.

"Hi Neji." Tenten smiled warmly, as ever. "Sorry I haven't been around for a while, but I was hoping we could train today.

"Hn." Neji nodded, before moving into position, never once looking directly at her.

"So what have you been up to lately?" Tenten attempted to make conversation as the two sparred.

"Training." Neji answered simply.

"Hmph." Tenten chuckled. "Figures." She smiled. "Nothing ever changes does it?" she asked in a small tone.

Neji could have sworn there was a hint of sadness in her voice. But he wasn't sure.

They had both always been good at innately understanding what the other meant without the need for explanations, but for the first time ever, he didn't know what she was thinking. It terrified him. As the two old friends spared, Neji couldn't help but feel the distance between them.

Though she was standing right in front of him, it felt like she was a million miles away. The thought, that the only person he had ever treasured was slowly slipping from his grasp, made Neji feel as if all his wonderful dreams had turned into bleak nightmares; and the little luck he had in his life, had finally run out.

She was leaving; he was sure of it. But just for that one moment, he would enjoy what little time his heart had before it was completely torn in two.

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_**_**8. Clocks – Coldplay (5:07)  
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_**

The day had finally arrived; the sand siblings were leaving Konoha. There were rumors that Tenten would be going with them. Neji had heard it first from Ino and Sakura; but he hadn't believed it. In part because they were known to be gossips; but another part of him knew he didn't believe it because he didn't _**want**_ to believe it. But then Naruto and Lee told him; even Shikamaru and Chouji told him about Tenten's departure. Slowly, Neji was beginning to believe.

Time was running out.

At that point, Gaara and Tenten had been spotted together a number of times; everyone was convinced that the young Kazekage and weapons mistress had fallen deeply in love; or at least, everyone was convinced it was necessary to inform Neji of such.

He had been feeling so depressed about it, that he hadn't even been training as much; not that he could have, considering his training partner was always out with the Sand Leader.

The end was quickly approaching; soon enough, Team Gai would cease to be.

Unless he did something, Neji would lose her forever.

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_**_**9. Brown Eyed Girl – Jimmy Eat World **_(Van Morrison Cover)_** (3:21)  
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_**

Where had they gone? He wasn't sure. But he knew where they'd come from, and how far they had traveled. He and Tenten had been through way too much for Neji to just give up without a fight.

Racing through the crowded streets, Neji rushed toward the main gates where he knew the departing Sand party would be.

He needed to remind her of all that they had been through, to tell her of all that she had meant to him. Screw fate and destiny, he would make his own! She was his, his brown eyed girl; and no one was going to take her from him. No one!

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_**_**10. Blvd of Broken Dreams – Greenday (4:21)  
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_**

He missed them.

By the time Neji had arrived at the main Gates to the village, the Suna party had already departed. A part of him really wanted to chase after them, hoping that they weren't too far ahead, and he could talk to Tenten; convince her to stay. But he didn't.

Clearly, she had made her decision. Whether he liked it or not, Neji had lost; and he'd never even been in the game to begin with.

As he walked through the busy streets of Konoha, meandering aimlessly though the village, he felt completely lost.

Though there were countless people out, he felt alone. It had been this way in his earlier years; surrounded by the multitude of Hyuga's in the compound, yet a quiet loneliness in his soul. But then Tenten came along, and it had all changed. When she was with him, it didn't matter if no one else were there, or if the whole world surrounded him. Being with her, felt like being surrounded by the world; she had been his world.

With her, his loneliness disappeared. But now that she was gone, he knew he'd bee lonely once again; he wasn't sure he could survive that emptiness.

"Hey Neji."

Neji looked up with startled surprise. "Tenten?"

"Yeah." Tenten gave him a funny look, "who'd you expect to find at our training field?"

Neji looked around to discover that he had somehow walked to the clearing without realizing it.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Where else would I be?" she relied…

* * *

**A/N**: ok… that was weird… I was going to do this one same as all the others, but for some reason… it just… turned out this way?... I was debating on whether or not to post this in the IPOD shuffle story at all, since it's… well I might just end up doing an actually story based on these drabbles… still, I decided whatever.. I'll post… and here's my dissection of each song.

**What I thought:  
****1**. That's actually pretty much what the song is about… I think it fits Neji so well… at least, the Neji in my fanfic universe XP… Neji's POV of course.  
**2**. oh… that one was depressing… don't know why the sudden shift… but I kind of wanted to do Tenten's POV to the first drabble… and I figured, if Neji hasn't told her, she might be a little sad thinking he doesn't have feelings for her…  
**3**. It was too short to really get into it… so that last line I just kind of threw in there before the song ended… because that's actually what I had wanted to do with this drabble… like it was her last chance to get 'it' off her chest… oh, yeah, that was Tenten's thought btw…  
**4**. this is when I realized I was actually writing a story… what with the whole blind date (which was the only thing I could think of for drabble 3 as the thing Tenten wanted to tell him, but ultimately couldn't)… so then I realized that 1 and 2 also connected to 3, through 4… that was so weird… oh and as for gravely voice… that was put in last minute because I hadn't decided who the blind date would be… I was thinking Kiba (because I always use Kiba), but I felt bad for Hinata, so I didn't… I thought of Naruto… but no… thought of Sasuke (just to have Neji beat him up), but then I decided on Gaara because of the pervious panda-drabble with Gaara and Tenten… plus, I figured Neji couldn't kill Gaara… and also connecting it to the 1 drabble where all the KONOHA guys knew to back off… but of course, who wouldn't? Someone clearly not from Konoha… thus Gaara.  
**5**. This one was mostly just my reasoning of why I chose Gaara over all the other guys…  
**6**. That song is actually a whole lot sadder than the drabble came out to be… but it basically says the same thing as the song… it's about a guy saying he feels lost without the woman he loves…  
**7**. a lot of it comes from the song… if you haven't heard it before… you should… it's sweetly somber…  
**8**. well… clocks… I kept thinking, time, time's running out… I kept hoping for happier songs to move the story in the direction I wanted it to end, but these songs kept coming up… so.. I went with them  
**9**. omg… I laughed when that song came on… I could have done it some other way… but at this point I was already aware that all the drabbles were connecting, so I just kept going with it… I love the original, but if you've heard the Jimmy Eat World cover, you'd know that there's this running sensation to it… or at least for me there is… so I went with that. XP  
**10**. AH! Stupid song ended… omg… so, I had been HOPING the 10th song would be a HAPPY song… and just my luck… nope… but, obviously it didn't matter, because I still ended it happy! Well… sort of… if I'd had more time, I would have added some fluff… but you know what, it's good it ended this way… because that way I can give it a really good ending if I decide to turn it into a story…

**PLEASE READ:  
**I'm debating whether to make it a one-shot or a multi-chapter story…

If it's a 1shot, it'll be in the collection, but if it's multi-chapter it'll be it's own separate story. I just have some issues. (err questions…)  
1. Should it be a scheme of Ino and Sakura to get Neji jealous? (as is kind of implied in drabbles 2, 4 and 8); OR  
2. Should I make it that Gaara and Tenten really were set up on a date?

Any other suggestions would be appreciated… I really don't have any plans beyond what came up in the drabbles… so, feel free to send me your suggestions **XD**


	8. Kakashi

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

_**Character/pairing: Kakashi**_

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_**1. Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin (8:02)**_

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It was already starting to get dark. Kakashi had been standing in front of the stone monument for the better part of the day. He hadn't intended to stay there all day; it was only supposed to be a few hours; and yet somehow he had ended up standing in that same position for nearly 12 hours.

Standing in front of the memorial stone, Kakashi often found himself losing track of time, but this was the first time since that day the name was chiseled into the hard rock, that he had actually spent the entire day there.

He hadn't really been thinking of anything in particular; just stood there. It was quiet. No one else had come to visit the stone all day; or at least, no one had stayed after seeing him standing there. So the passage of any time had gone completely unnoticed by him.

Normally it was the appearance of someone new that broke him out of his trances; someone would inevitably show up to pay respects to the etched out name that beckoned them there, and he would realize that he was already late to wherever it was he had to go. But today no one had come. It often happen, that Gai would eventually come by and tell him he needed to get a move on, and start his day. But Gai was on a mission today, so Kakashi went undisturbed; and thus the whole day had passed.

Kakashi probably would have stayed there; staring at into the depths of each letter well into the night, had it not been for her.

"I think it's time to go." Her soothing voice called out to him.

"Yeah." Kakashi nodded, before taking one last look at the name of the boy who had given his life new meaning. "Obito." He whispered into the chilly night.

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_**2. Bad to the Bone– Lynard Skynard (4:45)**_

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He HATED going to the hospital. It didn't matter what the reason; whether because of injury, or because he had to have a check up, or even just because he had to visit someone; he HATED going to the hospital.

"KAKASHI!!" the screaming voices of his many adoring fangirls echoed through the hospital corridors.

'_Nurses_.' Kakashi's instincts immediately had him running for cover.

This was supposed to be his day off; he would finally have time to finish reading the newest Icha Icha volume he'd bought a few days earlier; all he had to do was deliver some papers. But as always, going to the hospital was never as easy as it sounded. Immediately upon entering the building, he was met with a swarm of nurses chasing after him. It almost made Kakashi wish he'd been injured; at least then Tsunade would instruct them to leave him alone.

"Damn it!" Kakashi sprinted toward the main office, dropping the papers off without even stopping.

The main office was on the third floor, simple enough to jump down from; and that's exactly what he did.

"Thank goodness none of the nurses are kunoichi." Kakashi sighed in relief, as he made his way through the mostly empty streets.

He had purposefully decided to leave early in the morning, so as to avoid anyone bothering him.

"KAKASHI!!" More shrieking voices yelled out from behind him.

Kakashi turned; it was the female shopkeepers this time. He'd forgotten about them; they were always up early, preparing to open up their stands.

"Damn." Kakashi cursed as he began running towards the forest.

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_**3. How to Disappear Completely – Radiohead (5:56)**_

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The mask.

Many people asked why it was that I wore it. I often replied that it was because my father had also worn a mask, and that it was just what I was used to. I had been wearing my mask since as far back as I could remember; it was practically a part of my face.

However, that was not the only reason I wore the mask.

The mask was my way of disappearing. I never did like standing out too much. My father was famous for being a great shinobi; on par with any of the 3 sannin. If it had not been for that one mission, he probably would have gone down as one of the greatest heroes our village had even known. But he had been unjustly disgraced.

I hadn't realized that at the time though; I had been mistaken. I had believed it was he who had been in the wrong, for betraying the way of the shinobi. So I hid. I did my best to be a great shinobi; but as a man, as a fellow leaf villager… I hid.

I disappeared behind my mask. Pretending that I truly did not exist; that I really wasn't there; just a shadow.

The perfect ninja.

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_**4. California Dreaming – The Mamas and the Papas (2:41)**_

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The leaves brown, the sky was gray. It was a lazy winter's day. The village was peaceful and quiet. Team seven had just gotten off a long mission and was now taking a much deserved break.

First thing Kakashi had planned to do was take a nice walk out in the forest, find a comfortable tree and read a little of his new book; then maybe take a nice nap.

This time of year was prefect for napping in the forest. The smell of the breeze, the cool morning air; it all helped relax a tired shinobi into a peaceful, dreamless slumber.

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_**5. What You See Is What You Get – Britney Spears (3:36)**_

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"Kakashi, you should really consider changing that habit of yours." Kurenai commented.

"Which one?" Kakashi momentarily looked up from behind his book to face the Genjutsu specialist.

"Yeah, there's so many." Genma smirked from beside his friend.

"I think she's referring to the one about always being late." Asuma piped in. "It's a very bad habit."

"You're one to talk." Shizune waved her hands in front of her face to divert the smoke from Asuma's cigarette that was blowing toward her. "At least his bad habit isn't going to result in his death."

"Who says mine will?" Asuma countered. "I could easily die of a whole number of things before my smoking kills me. Besides, his tardiness could get other's killed; that's a lot worst."

"So could your second hand smoke." Kurenai took the cigarette from the bearded man's lips and snuffed it out on the table.

"Oi! Weren't we talking about Kakashi's problem here?" Anko yelled out.

"Oh yeah!" Kurenai nodded.

They all turned to face the masked man.

"Hey, we'd he go?" Shizune asked. "We weren't done with him!"

"Just give it up." Genma yawned from boredom. "Haven't you ever heard that you can't teach old dogs new tricks?"

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_**6. How to Save A Life – The Fray (4:23)**_

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He wasn't sure why he had agreed to come with Obito. It was against everything he believed; everything he stood for. Kakashi was making the same mistake his father had made; the same mistake his father had been disgraced for.

And yet Obito's words continued to echo in his head.

"Those who don't follow the rules are trash… but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash."

Those who abandon their friends are worst that trash.

Worst than trash.

Kakashi told himself he didn't believe those words. That he had only followed Obito because if he didn't, the idiot would only get himself killed. But wasn't the exactly what Obito's words meant?

Obito was going to save Rin, and Kakashi was going to protect Obito; wasn't it the same?

Worst than trash.

Where did he go wrong? Why did he ever doubt his father's intentions? It really was the village who had been wrong; not his father.

But now wasn't the time to think about it.

He needed to focus.

They needed to save Rin.

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_**7. Minority – Greenday (2:49)**_

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"JIRAIYA!" The Hokage's voice rang through the village.

"What'd you do?" Kakashi lazily asked the terrified looking man hidden behind the wall Kakashi was leaning against.

"Nothing!" Jiraiya replied. "That woman just wants to yell at me about my book again!"

"What about it?" Kakashi suddenly became very interested in the conversation; if there was something wrong with his favorite series, he needed to know.

"Something about corrupting the innocent, and how I need to set an example of morality because I'm one of the sannin, and blah blah blah." Jiraiya replied. "eh. How could I possibly set a worst example then Orochimaru?" he mumbled that last part. "That woman's just out to get me."

"Is that all?" Kakashi yawned, before turning down to continue reading his book. "You know, it's not like _**we're**_ in the minority here."

"No." Jiraiya agree. "But she is the Hokage. If she wanted to ban the book…"

_THUMP_

Jiraiya turned to face his biggest fan, only to see him frozen in place; his precious book fallen on the floor below the masked man.

"Then again," Jiraiya smirked. "If I can argue that banning it would do this to the best of her shinobi, there's no way she'd be able to go through with it."

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_**8. Tainted Love – The Cure (2:42)**_

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Sometimes I feel I've got to, run away! (A/N: lol)

Like now! These fangirls, I can't seem to get rid of them. And just when I think I've escaped them, I run into another group of them. Where are they all coming from?

"Damn." They've spotted me again.

All I want to do is read my book in peace. Is that too much to ask for?

It's not very often I get an actual day off. Can't they let me enjoy a little tranquility?

Imagine what it would be like if I actually walked around without my mask on. I'd never get them to leave me alone; though it's not like I have much luck with the mask on.

Maybe it's the mask? Are they THAT interested in finding out what's under my mask?

Oh no! Here come some more!

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_**9. Rehab – Amy Winehouse (3:30)**_

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"What's going on here?" Kakashi looked around at the room full of people.

Even though he was surrounded by friends, it felt like he had just stepped into a trap. He noticed Asuma moving to block the doors behind him, while Gai and his team moved in front of the windows. They were clearly trying to block any exits.

"Kakashi…" Tsunade began; sitting tranquilly in front of her desk. "This is an intervention."

"Huh?" Kakashi stood stunned in front of everyone.

"We think you need help." Asuma spoke up from behind him.

"What are you talking about?" Kakashi looked around the room questioningly.

"You're addiction has gotten out of control." Gai continued.

"What addiction?" Kakashi's brow furrowed. "Are you sure you're not all here for Asuma?" he pointed at the chain-smoker.

"We'll deal with him later." Tsunade replied; a look of concern swept over Asuma's face momentarily. "For now, we're talking about You."

"But I'm not addicted to anything." Kakashi countered. "I eat well, I don't drink, don't smoke; exercise every day. I lead a perfectly healthy life."

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura stepped forward. "The first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem."

"But I DON'T have a problem." The masked shinobi insisted.

"If that's true, you shouldn't have anything to say if I do this!" Naruto quickly snatched the book hidden in Kakashi's back pocket.

"Hey!" Kakashi turned to grab the younger shinobi, but was restrained by Shikamaru's shadow possession jutsu.

"I thought you said you didn't have a problem." Tsunade smirked…

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_**10. Bad Habit – The Dresden Dolls (3:01)**_

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"What the Hell?" I took a defensive stance, having just been released from Shikamaru's jutsu. What was going on? "You've got to be kidding me."

Who the hell came up with this idea? And where the hell is Jiraiya? If he were here, I bet we could take them all together.

What kind of friends are these? They know how much I love my book. How could they even think to do this to me?

Oh My Gawd. Are those tears coming out of my eyes?

Maybe they're right. Maybe I do have a problem.

NO!

Look at my poor little book… it never did anything to anyone and they're treating it like it's trash.

Oh no… are those?...

Now it's on!

"Don't you dare use those scissors!"

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**A/N**: It's been so long since I've written one of these, so I'm a bit rusty… and wow… Kakashi's hard to do… or maybe it's just that single character pieces are difficult… but then Gaara wasn't hard at all… he was pretty easy… mind you, I went psycho with the cookies… but it wasn't hard at all… I think what it is, is that most songs are "love songs" so it's kind of hard to write a "couple-themed" song about a single individual… yeah, that's it… (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

**What I thought:**

**1**. I must admit, when the song started playing, I seriously sat there staring at my wall for about 3 minutes before I said "okay, I need to start"…lol… it's a good thing that it's an 8 minute song… and who is "SHE" you ask? Well I guess since I've been contemplating doing a "prequel" to my OC story, that's just who popped up… but hey, if you want to think it's someone else, feel free.** XD**

**2**. OMG… so freaking hilarious… and that one I did NOT have to sit there for 3 minutes wondering what to write about… but I did run out of time… I wanted to get more groups running after him… lol…

**3**. I finished that one like 30 seconds before the song ended… I really had nothing more to say…

**4**. I love that song. But I had a hard time trying to figure out what to write for it…

**5**. As far as the artist goes… no comment… lol… but I liked this one… it was amusing… especially the last line… lol…

**6**. It made me think of Kakashi Gaiden.

**7**. hehehe… I do so love to torture the men… Kakashi's almost as much fun to torture as Neji… lol

**8**. lol… I guess that was like the continuation to #2… only from Kakashi's point of view this time. First person.

**9**. lol… ah… Kakashi and his book.. seriously… Amy Winehouse's REHAB… what else could I possibly do BESIDES THIS?... it was just prefect… lol

**10**. hahaha… totally random style… lol… honestly, these last two really went well together…lol… and this one… the song itself is very fast, very… well I'm not sure how to describe it, but it has this same feel as how I wrote Kakashi's thoughts in this one… or at least that's what I was going for…

**REVIEW! Please and Thank You. XD**


	9. NejiTen3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

_**Character/pairing: NejiTen**_

_**DEDICATION**_ –

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU  
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU  
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR ... ummm... APPLE BUBBLEGUM...lol  
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

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_**1. Rosas –La Oreja De Van Gogh (3:56)**_

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There he was, the stoic prince; prodigy of the Hyuga; known for his unwavering pride. No one would ever have believed it. THE Hyuga Neji, the man who had broken her heart; years earlier; told her that they were teammates and would never be anything more. The man she had given up on; who she had been trying to forget…

There he was, standing in front of her door.

The night before.

Tenten could feel the tears welling in her eyes. She had moved on; she was going to start a new life the next day. How could he do this to her? Why now?

"N-Neji?" her voice betrayed the pain insider her.

"Don't marry him." His voice was strong, yet undemanding; there was a pleading undertone to it.

"You have no right…" Tenten began.

"I love you." Neji interrupted.

"…" Her tears were close. "It's too late now."

"It isn't."

"It is." Her voice came out a whisper; too weak to protest properly.

No one ever forgets their first love. She knew for the rest of her life she would never be able to let go of him; but she couldn't accept this. Why now?

"Then tell me you don't love me."

"I…" Tenten averted her eyes to her feet; looking at him would make it impossible to say those words, but she had to. "I don't…"

"Tenten…" he lifted her face to his. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have waited this long. If you tell me you no longer love me, I will accept that. But…" His voice trailed off.

"I don't…" The tears… nothing could stop them. "I can't."

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_**2. Could It be I'm Falling In Love – The Spinners (4:12)**_

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Normally, Neji wasn't the shy type. If he had something to say, he would say it. If he had something to do, he'd do it. If he wanted something, he got it.

Neji was confident, self secured, unhesitant, unyielding, and most importantly, unafraid. But lately he'd begun to realize he was acting strangely. There were various times when his hands would become moist; his throat dry; his face would grow warm. At first he thought he might be falling ill, but then he'd get back to the compound and feel fine.

It was confusing him. There were other times too, when he would feel his heart beat rise, even when he was sitting perfectly still. There was also a strange churning in his stomach; partly nauseating, but also warm and tingling. He couldn't quite figure it out.

"Tenten." Neji turned to his female teammate.

"huh?" Tenten looked over from beside him, as the two rested against a tree in their sparring grounds.

"May I ask you something?" He needed to talk to someone about these strange sensations.

"Of course." Tenten smiled warmly. "You can ask me anything."

:_Ba-dump_: Seeing her friendly smile sent a cold shiver down his spine. There it was again, that feeling. The fluttering in the center of his being; the heat rising in face; the tightening in his chest.

That was it. It was her. She was the reason he was feeling so strange. What did it mean?...

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_**3. Better Version of Me – Fiona Apple (3:34)**_

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"No." Tenten shook her head adamantly.

"Oh come on Tenten, you'll look adorable." Sakura insisted.

"No." She looked at the short mini-shirt dress her friends had handed her over the changing room door.

She had only agreed to go shopping with them because she needed a new top; the long sleeves of her old one kept getting in the way when she was in battle. Sure they provided an extra layer of protection to the many weapons that were often throw at her (some her own), but it was too cumbersome.

Somehow it had turned into a 'make-over Tenten' session.

"You'll look really sexy!" Ino's mischievous voice resonated in the small changing room.

"I don't care!" Tenten shouted back. Would dressing 'girlie' really change her into a better version of herself?

"Come on," Ino insisted. "I bet Neji would love to see you in it."

"Yeah!" A familiar male loud voice shouted. "You want to see right Neji?" Kiba teasingly jabbed the stoic boy's side with his elbow.

:_GASP_: Tenten felt her knees buckle. Thankfully she was in the changing room and no one else could see the startled reaction she had upon hearing that the boy she liked was just outside the changing room.

"Hey, what are you guy's doing here?" Sakura questioned the seven boys standing outside the dressing room.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled from beside the other boys.

"Kiba heard the word 'sexy' and dragged us all in here." Chouji explained.

"Yeah, so come on out Tenten, we all want to see!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Especially Neji!" Naruto pitched in. "Right Neji?" He turned to the stoic prodigy.

"Hn." Neji looked away bored.

"I'm not coming out!" Tenten yelled. She'd heard him; knew he didn't care. There was no way she was coming out; especially not when her eyes were threatening to overflow at the realization of what his disinterest meant.

"I AM CERTAIN YOU WILL LOOK LOVELY TENTEN-SAN!" Lee cheerfully proclaimed.

"Yeah, you'll look so cute." Ino shouted. "A whole new Tenten!"

"There was nothing wrong with the old Tenten." Neji stated, before turning to leave; keenly aware of the blush that was threatening to rise, at the words he had inadvertently disclosed.

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_**4. Not My Idea– Garbage (3:41)**_

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Why? Why had he agreed to come to this place? This was not his idea of a good time. Going to a stupid movie, which his two idiot teammates would inevitably get them kicked out of, like they always did, because they were too loud, was not what he wanted to be doing at that moment.

'_Who yells at a movie screen anyway?_' Neji angrily asked himself; remembering the countless times their antics had them thrown out, something he really didn't wish the repeat again. '_Right, those two idiots_.'

It always happened. Gai would assign a day in the month that he deemed "team bonding" time and the four of them would do something that Neji would much rather be left out of. Last time it had been a theme park. Lee had been very excited because he had heard that the rides were said to be the fastest and scariest experiences ever. Clearly the idiots hadn't thought it through; they could RUN faster than the fastest ride, how the hell did they expect for that to be exciting?

Now here they were, standing in a long line to some kiddie movie, and Neji just couldn't figure out why it was he was there. Why did he always agree to go to these ridiculous activites?

"Line's moving Neji." A soft sweet voice said from next to him.

'_Oh, that's right_.' Neji looked down at the girl standing beside him.

That was why…

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_**5. Kiss Me – Sixpence None the Richer (3:30)**_

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A chilling breeze gently blew through the clearing, sending a shiver down Tenten's spine. What was she doing there? In the middle of the night; completely alone; and in a party dress no less.

She'd been invited to the Hyuga compound to attend a party. She hadn't really known what it was about until she reached the main gates and overheard some of the other guests talking about it; an engagement.

It was an engagement party… for Neji.

How could he not have told her? Though she had never been brave enough to confess her feelings to him, she'd always believed he knew. But now it seemed evident that that wasn't the case.

"Tenten." A baritone voice called from behind her.

:_GASP_: The girl visibly jumped.

"Neji." Tenten turned to face him, trying to appear as calm as possible; she hadn't felt his presence at all.

"What are you doing?" his eyes seemed to sparkle with the rays of the silver moon.

"Umm." What could she say?

"You'll catch a cold." Neji slowly approached her.

"Why are you here Neji?" Tenten took a few steps back; not wanting him to get too close; it hurt too much to have him there.

"Am I not allowed to be at our training field?" He continued walking forward.

"You're supposed to be at the compound." Tenten kept moving back.

"As are you." Neji kept walking; slowly she was backing herself into a tree.

"It doesn't matter, no one will miss me." Tenten replied; feeling the bark of the tree now at her back. "But you…"

"I'd miss you." Neji cut her off; now standing directly in front of her.

"I…" Before she could come up with something to say, Tenten suddenly felt Neji's warm lips pressed against hers. A myriad of questions came flooding into her mind as the man she loved passionately kissed her.

Why? What was going on? Wasn't he about to become engaged? What did it mean?

Slowly they parted. "Also…" He pressed his forehead to hers; making no effort to move away. "I think it would matter to everyone if one of the betrothed were not present."

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_**6. What You Waiting For? – Gwen Stefani (4:42)**_

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"Hi Kiba, hi Akamaru." Tenten cheerfully greeted the boy and his dog, as they walked up toward the compound.

"Hey Tenten." Kiba smiled. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, just here to get Neji." Tenten replied.

"Jeeze." Kiba laughed slightly. "You're probably the only person in the world who can put up with that guy." He shook his head incredulously.

"He's not that bad you know." She smiled; although even she had to admit Kiba's assessment was probably quite accurate. There weren't very many people who could handle the Hyuga's temper; and even fewer still who NEJI could tolerate.

"I don't know what that guy's waiting for though." Kiba shook his head as the three approached the main gates.

"What do you mean?" Tenten turned to look at him questioningly.

"Ha." He chuckled. He smiled at the girl; amused at how completely unaware of her own beauty she was. "Man, you're so cute Tenten." Just as the words left his mouth, the doors to the compound opened, revealing a visibly fuming Hyuga.

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_**7. Say That You'll Stay – Jewel (4:17)**_

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"Promise me you'll stay." Tenten whispered to the man whose arms she were wrapped around her.

"Forever." Neji leaned in to kiss her forehead as the girl rested on his bare chest.

"Promise me." She repeated.

"I promise." Neji repeated.

"And you'll always love me?" Her voice was muffled; he could feel her warm breath on his flesh.

"To my very last breath." He replied.

"Even if I get old and ugly?" Tenten asked.

"Of course." Neji replied; his chest rapidly rising and falling at the small chuckle he let out with her last statement.

"That's not funny." Tenten pinched his side. "Everyone gets old. And then you get gray hair and wrinkles… Men look better as they age, but women…"

"Tenten." He pulled her chin up to face him. "You will always be beautiful in my eyes."

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_**8. Speechless – The Veronicas (4:02)**_

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You've always been by my side. It seems almost as if I've always known you. I dream about you every night. I didn't even realize when it happened, but somehow, somewhere along the way, I fell head over heels for you.

You stole my heart before I could say no. Every time I see you, I feel breathless; unable to speak, unable to think. The way you look at me… I feel like the whole world disappears; it's just you and me.

I can't explain it, but whenever I'm with you, I feel weightless; my soul feels lighter. I can't help but surrender, my everything to you.

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_**9. Sleeping Beauty – A Perfect Circle (4:11)**_

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"Tenten." Neji's voice called out to the sleeping kunoichi. "Wake up."

"Huh?" Tenten jumped slightly, at the feel of a finger poking her side. "What do you want Neji?" she yawned.

"You're sleeping." Neji plainly explained.

"Yes, I know." Tenten replied, stretching her limps; her eyes still half closed.

"Well?" Neji's voice sounded stern, but nor harsh.

"Neji, if you want to train, you're going to have to wait for me to wake up." Tenten yawned again; both for emphasis and because she really was tired.

"Tenten." Neji sternly repeated her name.

"What is it Neji?" Tenten opened her eyes. "Wait; huh!?" she looked questioning at her surroundings. "Why didn't you tell me I fell asleep in the clearing?"

"I thought it was obvious." Neji replied; feeling numb at being made her pillow the whole time she had been sleeping.

"Well, apparently you thought wrong." Tenten replied, sitting up to turn and get a better look at him.

"Hn." Neji grunted.

"How long was I out?" Tenten asked.

"A few hours." Neji replied.

"Hours?!" Tenten looked back at the Hyuga in shock, "Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked comfortable." He answered with a shrug.

"…" Tenten gave him a puzzled expression. "Jeeze, sometimes you're just so weird." She laughed. "But… you know…" She paused, noticing the impatient expression he had as he waited for her to continue. "You're a surprisingly soft pillow." She smiled; standing up and picking her bag off the ground. "Thanks see you tomorrow!" she yelled out before running off toward her house.

"And I'm the weird one?" Neji thought out loud as he watched the girl go.

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_**10. Still Doll –**__**Wakeshima Kanon**__:__** Vampire Knight ending theme (1:28)**_

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The music seemed to be flowing through their limbs, as if the melody had blended to their chakra, moving their bodies of it's own will. The soft lighting and misty fog covering the dance floor cast an ethereal glow; it was as if they were dancing on a cloud. And that's exactly what it felt like to him. It was a paradise; a world of their own. Together, they were isolated; alone, but never alone. Though the whole village was present, as far as Neji could tell, and as far as he cared, there was no one else there but the two of them. Just him and His Tenten… forever.

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**A/N**: I'm hoping it's not too obvious… but I think it might be… I guess I just wasn't in an "idea" mood today so… a lot of them were a little bland… still they're not completely horrible… I hope… no, actually I do like them… but I feel like **WHAT IS LOVE** has created a weird sort of writers block that won't allow me to FEEL anything else… oh well, guess that just means I should focus on that… but I wanted to write this one out… HAPPY BIRTHDAY APPLE BUBBLEGUM! Hope you liked it… **XD**

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**What I thought:**

**1**. Ah… ended too soon… Basically Tenten was going to say that she couldn't say that she didn't love him… (was that a double negative?)… I also wanted Neji to have roses with him… like the song says… anyway, there's this line in the song… "Who would have thought that true love was the first love, and all the rest are just to help us forget" (It sounds a lot prettier in Spanish)… so I went with that. XP

**2**. Even though it was a longer song, I kinda got stuck remembering whether it was "Ba-dump" or "B-dmp" in manga's for a heartbeat… then I though, well "thump" would work just as well, and then I remembered the one I was actually trying to think of was "doki"… lol… but by then I figured I'd wasted enough time thinking the ba-dump/b-dmp thing over that I needed to use one…lol… I was also going to add the line "could it be he was falling in love with Tenten?" at the very end, but I thought it sounded a little corny.

**3**. Neji's line at the end came kind of abrupt, but I was running out of time, so I didn't want to just leave the story without the part that I wanted to put in… ah… lol

**4**. This is where I realized I was totally off my game today… But it was a cute way to end it. **XP**

**5**. I couldn't do it! I couldn't have Neji engaged to someone else…I was trying to do that (oh so cliché) plot, but then in the end, I couldn't… lol... so if you don't get it… Tenten ran away because she thought Neji was going to get engaged to some other girl, when in reality he was going to get engaged to her… leave it to the cocky Hyuga to assume she'd say yes without even asking her… lol (not that he's wrong XP)

**6**. I was writing really slow today… I was so going somewhere with this one (it will SOOOO become a one-shot someday…)

**7**. Aww… that one was sweet… it's short because I actually started doing something else entirely, but thought it was really bad so I erased and redid… this was cute though XP… of course, I've no idea what was going on in that scene… lol

**8**. That… was the also pretty short, but not because I didn't have any ideas… rather because I got so entrapped by the song itself that I had to pull myself back to actually write… this song is SO PERFECT for Neji and Tenten… I am so going to write a song-fic around it… It's kind of funny… I reread this and realized, I have no idea whose talking… it could just as easily be Neji or Tenten…

**9**. Totally had nothing to do with the song, and I have no idea where I was going on with that XP… but it was cute…

**10**. This one's an UBER short one, song is so short too… so I had to just jump right in… and I absolutely love this song… the anime I've been neglectful in keeping up with, but I adore the manga… lol…. ZERO… so cute… :awww:… anyway, this was so much cuter in my head then it actually came out… but now I'm determined that in one story (someday) I'm going to have a dance scene that I can actually describe a little better… apparently it's not as easy as I thought (or at least not that easy in a minute and half… lol).


	10. NejiTen4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

_**Character/pairing: NejiTen**_

_**DEDICATION**_ – To chibinejiten **Happy Birthday!**  
_Sorry it's a day late; didn't have very much time to write anything this week, so I opted for the shuffle collection since it's the quickest one I could do. Hope you like it nonetheless, and I hope you're birthday was a good one. XD_

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_**1. I Found A Reason – Cat Power (2:00)**_

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They had always been together.

At first they had been teammates, then friends, then lovers…

The best memories of her life all revolved around that man. Being with him made her heart pound; her stomach flutter; her sprit soar. He was everything to her.

As she stared forward at the man that she loved, standing before all their friends and families a few yards down that long petal laced aisle, she knew that everything was about to change.

In a good way.

What came next would be even better then what came before. In a few short moments, she would be Mrs. Neji Hyuga.

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_**2. Don't Stop Me Now – Queen (3:29)**_

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"Woooh!" The brunette shouted loudly.

Finally a day off from training; nothing was going to stop her from enjoying her first girl's night out in months!

"Tenten." The somber voice of one Hyuga Neji called out to the kunoichi.

"Neji-nii-san." Hinata gasped; as surprised as the rest of the girls to see Tenten's furious looking teammate standing before them.

Ino had convinced them all to go dancing. Tenten had been reluctant at first, because she knew Ino was up to something; though what that was, she wasn't sure. But in the end, Tenten gave in; after all, it was dancing.

"We're leaving now." Neji stoically informed his sparring partner; angrily glaring at the two men who had just walked up to ask Tenten to dance.

"But I'm having such a good time!" Tenten whined; she loved dancing…

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_**3. Beautiful Disaster – Kelly Clarkson (4:35)**_

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Neji was drowning.

Not literally, of course. But in every other sense of the word, he _was_ drowning. Tenten could see Neji slowly sinking into desperation. Every day as he trained harder and harder she wondered what it was that was eating away at his soul.

She couldn't stand it. Why was killing himself? What could possibly drive him to such a point?

Tenten wanted to help him. She wanted to save him; to bring him back to the surface. But she couldn't. There was nothing she could do to stop him from the self-destruction; and it killed her inside.

All she could do was watch the disaster unfold. Such a beautiful disaster.

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_**4. She Likes Me For Me – Third Eye Blind (3:10)**_

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"I think" Tenten paused, trying to catch her breath. "I think, we lost them."

"Hai." Neji agreed; out of breath as well.

"I can't believe…" More heavy breathing. "They found us." She continued.

"Hn."

Fangirls had always been a source of constant annoyance to Neji, but on that day, of all days, he had been hoping to avoid them. He had finally decided to ask Tenten to be his bride. Yes, the Hyuga Neji was going to propose to Konoha's one and only weapons mistress.

But it just didn't seem to be happening. From early in the morning, until now, there had been one interruption after another. First Lee and Gai, then Naruto showing up to give them a message from the Hokage; and now fangirls? They were so annoying. Shikamaru was right; women were troublesome.

But Tenten was different.

Unlike the rest of them, she appreciated Neji not because he was a Hyuga, or because he was prodigy. She didn't even swoon over his physical attributes like the rest of them. No, Tenten liked him for him; that's why Neji loved her.

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_**5. Perfect Situation – Weezer (4:15)**_

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"Ten-" Neji quietly called out to the girl standing yards ahead of him.

She wasn't alone. There was that man again. An older guy. The same man Neji had seen her with the previous day. And they were acting overly familiar with one another; just like the previous time Neji had seen them.

Why?

What did it mean?

Neji wanted to run up to them and demand that she tell him who he was. He wanted to pound the man's face into oblivion. He had his arm draped over her. Who did he think he was, talking to Tenten in a such a familiar manner? Didn't he realize that she was Neji's?

Neji didn't know what was going on. Deep down, he knew that there had to be an explanation, but he just couldn't seem to think logically at that moment.

All Neji knew, and cared to know was that that man was dead.

"Hey Neji." Tenten turned to face the Hyuga; waving for him to come over. "I'd like you meet my brother Tatsuya."

Brother?

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_**6. Creep – Radiohead (3:57)**_

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Neji watched as Tenten flew through the air like an angel. They had been training together for years. She helped him with his gentle fist, and in the process improved her own weapons jutsu.

She had grown a lot over the years.

In the beginning, many spoke of the genius Hyuga; the man who could do anything. A prodigy whose talent and ability seemed limitless. They praised him; admired him.

And Lee…

Lee was the underdog; the pathetic nothing who, through sheer will and determination had made himself a great among the shinobi of the village. Lee was inspiration to many who struggled with obstacles and hindrances.

In team Gai, the men were sources of admiration for many in the village. But few realized that the true diamond; the one to watch for; was Tenten.

Her growth had been slow and subtle; but her potential: limitless. Over the years she had become more powerful, more beautiful, more amazing than anyone could have ever imaged.

And Neji, he just wasn't good enough.

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_**7. Suddenly I See – KT Tunstall (3:22)**_

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He had heard it many times. Sakura's pink hair made her different from the rest; made her pretty. Ino's stylish and confident persona, attacked many; she was considered sexy. Hinata's timid sweetness made her cute in many guy's eyes. But Tenten… As far as everyone else was concerned, she was the average one.

At most, people would say that her strength and determination gave her a certain quality to admire; but no one called her pretty, or sexy, or cute.

But they were wrong.

Neji knew better.

She didn't dress up to flatter her figure the way that the other girls did. She didn't paint her face in flashy, unnatural colors. She didn't have hair that stood out, or a flirtatious personality. She didn't blush adorably, and she didn't act like a crushing school girl.

But she didn't need to. She was prefect just the way she was.

Even if no one else saw it… he did.

Tenten was a true beauty.

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_**8. Whatever it Takes – Lifehouse (3:27)**_

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"She's leaving." The blond kunoichi angrily informed Neji as he and the other guys stood in front of Naruto's favorite ramen stand.

"I am aware." Neji tried to keep the timber of his voice even.

He knew. Tenten had told him so the previous evening. She had been assigned a post in another village. She would be leaving and wouldn't return for years. They would never see her again.

"Aren't you going to do anything?" The pink haired kunoichi pleadingly asked.

It is not my place to question her decision." Neji coldly replied. "I have nothing to do with it."

"Nothing to do with it?" Ino shouted in disbelief. "You've got everything to do with it!"

"She's right." Kiba chimed in from behind him; the other five boys nodding their agreement.

"…" Neji solemnly stared back at the accusing group. "I fail to see the connection."

"Don't you get it?" Sakura yelled out. "She's leaving because of you!"

"Preposterous." Neji scoffed. "I did nothing to drive her away."

"That's actually the problem." Shikamaru lazily opined.

"Yup." Naruto nodded.

"…" Neji continued staring at them; he failed to see the connection.

"Nii-san." Hinata quietly spoke up from beside her two teammates. "It's because you did nothing that she's leaving."

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_**9. Selfish – NSYNC (4:20)**_

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Maybe he _was_ being selfish. Taking up all her time each day to train from dawn til dust; never giving her a moment of free-time.

All of their missions were together. Even on their days off, Neji would monopolize all of Tenten's time.

They weren't dating. He hadn't even admitted his own feelings to himself. But he knew his actions weren't innocent. He knew full well what he was doing. He knew he was keeping her from the rest of them. The other guys. The boys in the village who he often caught eyeing the bun-haired kunoichi.

Yes, maybe he was selfish. But There was no way he was going to allow any of them to come near her.

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_**10. The Way I Am – Ingrid Michaelson (2:13)**_

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"Neji." Tears were forming in the kunoichi's eyes as spoke. "I…"

She had finally summoned the courage to tell him how she felt. Terrified that he would reject her, Tenten had nonetheless been determined that morning that she would finally say the words she's felt for so many years.

She had arrived earlier than usual at the training field; ready to declare her love to the stoic prodigy. But she never got to.

"I love you too." She smiled up the white-eyed shinobi; tears of joy freely flowing from her eyes.

She was so happy.

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**What I thought:**

**1**. I love this song, and I love the line, "What comes is better then what came before" so first thing I thought of was "Wedding!" hence, the drabble.

**2**. I was so stumped on this one… I just think Tenten would like dancing.. and Ino, being Ino, would scam some way of hooking Tenten up with a boy… of course, Neji would find out and steal her away! XP

**3**. I LOVE this song… I know there's no reason or setting to this drabble, but just to let you know, I was sort of imagining Neji before the Naruto fight… or during WHAT IS LOVE when he's convinced Tenten is in love with Gaara… hehehe… (see what I did there? Pimping out my story for anyone who hasn't read it…XP)

**4**. I wanted to do a fangirl drabble… but this is what popped out… totally unrelated to the song except for the last line…lol

**5**. If I'd had more time, I would have done a series of flashbacks with Neji being faced with the perfect moment of kissing Tenten, but then missing it each and every time… XP.. but since I knew I wouldn't be able to pull that off in the short span of the song, I opted for this… I love Ryoku from WIND AND DRAGON and 5 NOBLE CLANS (there, did it again!), but the relative had to be someone around Tenten's age, so I made it an older brother… who would have been done for some years on some far off mission so Neji never met him XP… oh that's be a cool fic to write… but not til 5NC is done… and I have a set storyline and stuff… XP… if ever…

**6**. Love the song… Loved the drabble… Tenten's just so underappreciated… she really is the true Diamond in the rough…

**7**. … nothing much to say to this one…

**8**. I LOVE this song… I think it's so fitting for Neji and Tenten… maybe a oneshot some day… probably.

**9**. Yes, Nsync… I know… lol… but I do love some of their ballads… Selfish, Gone, I thought she knew… I like ballads… XP

**10**. … didn't really end on my usual high note, but hey, it's 2am, can you blame me?... it was still cute.. XD


	11. Jiraiya

_**Character/pairing: Jiraiya **_

_**WARNING**_: SPOILER ALERT… I normally don't do spoiler alerts… which is probably mean of me, but whatever… but for this one, I will… If you don't know what happened in chapter 382 of the manga… skip numbers 1, 3 and 10

Oh and I wrote 1-7 way back when, but never got around to doing any more until today… so 8-10 are newer, which might be noticeable if the tone changed a little...

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_**1. One Sweet Day – Mariah Carey ft. Boys to Men (4:42)**_

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'_Jiraiya_.' Tsunade regretfully sighed. '_I told him I should have gone with him_.'

News had finally arrived that Master Jiraiya had died in battle. It had been his ultimate ambition to go down as a true shinobi hero; to make up for his shameful reputation as a perverted old man.

'_I'm the last one_.' Tsunade's eyes began to well up in tears; remembering that news of Orochimaru's death had reached them only a week earlier.

She had never told him how she really felt about him. He was her best friend, and she never told him how much she really cared. Sure, he probably knew; just as she knew that he cared deeply for her as well. It wasn't a romantic love; no, they weren't that way; it was much more than that. Theirs was a spiritual connection; they were soul mates, life-long friends; eternal confidants. Now he was gone, and she couldn't help feel so lost and alone.

"I should have told him."

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"Ha." A smiling face looked down at the women seated at the oak desk. "You old hag, of course I knew you loved me!" Jiraiya merrily laughed from the cloud he was perched on. "You sure did win the mother-load though. Figures, the time you finally win a bet…" he shook his head in amusement. "Won't you be surprised to see how much I saved up…"

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_**2. Welcome to Paradise – Greenday (3:45)**_

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"LADIES!" Jiraiya excitedly yelled as he saw the swarm of women in the bathhouse.

He had heard that this village was mostly inhabited by only woman, but he didn't believe it until he got there. It was truly heaven on earth as far as the perverted sage was concerned.

And who cared if the rumors said it was cursed, and that any man who walked into the village was never seen or heard from again. It's not like anything was going to happen to HIM.

"Hello Ladies, Jiraiya's here!"

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_**3. The Long and Winding Road – The Beatles (3:39)**_

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That light. Where did it coming from? The last thing I could remember was fighting that guy… the one with the eyes… the one who looked like my former student. He was winning. I remember dieing… but then I woke up again. Didn't I? What happened after that?... I can't remember…

Where am I now? What is that road ahead of me? It looks nice. Hey… Old man… what's he doing here?... and wait… isn't that… Minato?... That must mean… Well I guess I didn't wake up after all…

It's all up to you now, Naruto…

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_**4. Beep – The Pussycat Dolls (3:49)**_

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"Come on, do it again." Jiraiya begged.

"NO!" Naruto shouted at the perverted sage.

"Just do it!" Jiraiya shouted; changing his tactic, though it still seemed to come off as begging.

"PERVERT!" Naruto shouted. "You promised to teach me a new justu, but all I've been doing is performing my sexy-no-jutsu and harem-jutsu! I've already got those mastered!"

Naruto angrily glared at the old man; disgust and rage evident in his usually sparkling blue eyes. Any other man might feel ashamed of disappointed his wide-eyed innocent pupil; but not Jiraiya. He'd long since stopped caring what other people cared about him; plus, he knew deep down the boy held a deep respect for him… at least he thought so…

Jiraiya wondered if maybe he should try to be more respectable.

"Come on…" He got down on his knees to beg. 'F_orget respect, I want to see *#x*$_'

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_**5. Adam's song – Blink 182 (4:11)**_

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'_Pervy old sage!'_

'_When will you start acting like an adult?'_

'_AHHH, PERVERT!'_

'_Go do your "research" somewhere else! You dirty old man!'_

"Haah". Jiraiya sighed; rubbing his tender cheek, where he'd been slapped for the hundredth time that day. "No on appreciates me." He moaned regrettable.

"I do." A muffled voice said from behind him.

Curiously, the white-haired man turned to face the voice that had responded to his lament.

"Ah, Kakashi!" Jiraiya was glad to see the masked man. "Glad to know someone cares." He smiled over at the younger man; proud to know that at least someone in the whole appreciated him.

"Yeah, well if you weren't around, who'd write my favorite books?" Kakashi nonchalantly stated.

"…" Jiraiya's face deadpanned as he watched his sole 'admirer' take off in the opposite direction; his nose buried in the latest edition of the Icha Icha series. "haah… no one appreciates me." He sighed.

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_**6. Are You Gonna be My Girl? – Jet (3:45)**_

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Jiraiya starred gapingly at the brown haired beauty that had just crossed his path. She was gorgeous; young and innocent, just like he liked them.

"Hey honey, how about you come with me?" Jiraiya shamelessly flirted with the girl.

"Huh?" she looked at him in a mixture of disbelief and annoyance.

"You're beautiful!" Jiraiya complimented. "Those long black boots really suit you."

"…" The girl looked incredibly cute as she stared speechlessly at him.

'O_h yeah, she wants me_!' Jiraiya pushed out his chest proudly. "So what do you say sweetheart, are you going to be my girl?" Jiraiya lecherously smiled at the young girl.

"Tenten." A white-eyed shinobi walked up between the two of them. "Stay away from him." He commandingly instructed, before turning to glare at the older man.

"Yeah…" The brown haired girl nodded, before the two proceeded to walk away.

'_There goes another one_.' Jiraiya sighed dejectedly. '_Should have known she already had a guy…_'

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_**7. Feeling Good – Muse (3:22)**_

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It was a good day; he could tell. Jiraiya wasn't sure what it was, but he knew something important was going to happen that day. There was just something in the air that told him that the day was going to be a good one.

The sun was rising up into the sky, and not a cloud in sight. There was an undeniable warmth in the air; a friendly atmosphere. Something about today was just … good.

It was a new dawn; a new day, and new life for him and he was feeling good.

"JIRAIYA!!!!" A loud yelled, belonging to one very angry blond, called out to the white-haired man.

"Shit!" Jiraiya immediately took off running…

Staying away from Tsunade was the only way that his day would remain a good day.

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_**8. Where I end, and you begin – Radiohead (4:34)**_

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I named him. I am his godfather. But he is so much like you. From his physical appearance; to his unending strength and determination. He is you.

He may have had many great teachers in his short life; myself amongst them; teaching him everything we knew… and learning from him as we went. But even though we… I… taught him, deep inside him, I know he has you to thank for helping him exceed all expectations.

Though he only had you with him for one day, you were never away. He chased your shadow, without knowing who you really were… and through it all, while he has gained so much from the rest, it was you who kept him going.

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_**9. Brick house – The Commodors (3:36)**_

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Brick house? More like steel! The woman was a true Amazon! And with a temper to match!

But the fact that she was unattainable; having rejected him more times than he could care to count (or to acknowledge); made her all the more alluring. And even despite the years that had taken a toll on her deceivingly angelic features (though her jutsu prevented anyone from actually being able to tell how old she really was), he still thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his entire life (and he had seen plenty).

Jiraiya had never been closer to death than with her… but he'd never been closer to heaven either.

Though their relationship never went beyond that of friendship, and she was far from the beauty she'd been in her younger days, Jiraiya couldn't ignore the truth, as he cleverly watched the blond Amazon crouched angrily at her desk.

He loved that old hag…

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_**10. Knocking on Heaven's Door – Guns and Roses (5:36)**_

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'_This is it_.' The white-haired man somberly told himself, as he lay in a pool of his own blood.

He could have escaped, but he hadn't. His life had not been as important to him as finding out the secret to Pein's jutsu. He hoped his message would get the village in time to help them. He wished there was more that he could have done… but …

"You did everything you could." A familiar voice called out to him from above.

"Old man?" Jiraiya turned to face the third Hokage. "So this really is the end, then?"

"But what an end…" A second figure appeared out of the bright white light staring down at the pervy sage.

"Minato…" Jiraiya stared in awe at his former student.

"Hello Master." Minato smiled warmly, as the two dear friends approached the sannin.

"So you two are my greeting party?" Jiraiya smirked playfully; happy to see two of the most important people in his life again. "Well, I would have preferred a roomful of scantly clad women to welcome me into their warm embraces, as I crossed over to the other side, but…" He paused to smile at them. "This isn't bad either…"

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_**

* * *

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**What I thought:**

**1**. I'm unsure of how I feel about the Jiraiya Tsunade pairing… but… I do love them as friends…

**2**. lol… seriously, what else would he consider paradise?...

**3**. aww… it's not that great, but I could just imagine this… so well…

**4**. ha-ha… so much I could have done with Jiraiya and a pussycats doll song… lol… but this is what came to mind…

**5**. come on, how could I not include Kakashi?... especially given that Jiraiya made an appearance in his drabble set XP…. Lol… and of course, Kakashi only appreciates Jiraiya because of the books… Hehehe… oh, it might not be that obvious, but the first three lines are like "flashbacks"… things that were said to Jiraiya earlier in the day…

**6**. LOL… sorry… there's a line in the song that mentions brown hair and big black boots… reminded me of the a chapter in 1S:NxT…plus the line "you were with another man."…lol… Neji.

**7**. I LOVE MUSE!!! What more can I say?... and I love this song!

**8**. I honestly didn't know what else to write… even had time left over with this one… I basically just concentrated on the title of the song… but it went in a different direction… close, but still… anyway, I'm sure you can all guess who Jiraiya is talking about and to right?...

**9**. Wish I could have written more… but yeah… brick house… how could it not be Tsunade? "Just letting it all hang out" ;P

**10**. Incredibly appropriate… but if I'd been doing this for Kakashi, I would so have started crying… anyway… yeah…


	12. Tenten pairings

_**Character/pairing: Tenten-pairings… sort of (aka: Jealous-Neji ;P)**_

**They're all connected...  
**

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_**1. Trying To Find My Way – Lifehouse (3:53)**_

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"haaaaaah." Tenten sighed deeply, as she removed the strings holding together the tight buns on the side of her head. "So much better." She smiled, as she gently began rubbing her scalp.

"Tenten-san…" Lee, who was walking besides the weapon's mistress as the three members of Team Gai walked together into the village, innocently called out.

"What is it Lee?" Tenten turned to smile at her friend.

"You look very beautiful with your hair down." Lee earnestly stated.

Neji, who was walking on the opposite side of the kunoichi, curiously looked over at the pair. It was a rare sight to see the bun-haired kunoichi with her hair down, and he couldn't help but agree with the bowl-haired boy on his assessment; she did look beautiful with her hair down. Just the same, even though Neji knew that Lee was merely stating his honest opinion (with no ulterior motive in his statement), it seriously irked Neji to hear someone else say that to Tenten.

What bothered him the most, however, was the adorable reaction such a compliment would garner from the kunoichi.

"Thank you Lee." Tenten blushingly replied.

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_**2. Somebody Told Me – The Killers (3:34)**_

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Neji watched as the midriff-wearing shinobi, whom Team Gai had come across a few moments ago, non-too-discretely eyed the kunoichi standing in front of him. They had only met the former ANBU a few weeks earlier and already the man was beginning to piss Neji off.

"You have good proportions." Sai plainly stated as he continued inspecting the bun-haired kunoichi from head to toe.

"Ahh… thank you?" Tenten stared wide-eyed at the pale boy; unsure of whether to feel complimented or insulted.

"Lots of curves." He continued; while staring at the buns on her head, which she had just retied in silk ribbons.

"huh?" Tenten turned to Sakura questioningly, as the pink-haired medic hid herself behind her hands; clearly embarrassed by her new teammate's social awkwardness.

"May I paint you?" Sai candidly asked.

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_**3. Believe – Yellowcard (4:31)**_

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It was festival time in Konoha, and everyone was enjoying the excitement of the season. After running into Team Kakashi on the way to the colorfully lined booths, Naruto had signed up for an eating contest, held by the Akimichi clan. Behind him, his two teammates and Team Gai eagerly watched on; none of them really excepting much, given that Naruto was, without a doubt, the thinnest competitor in the contest.

"Go for it Naruto!" Tenten excitedly cheered him on from the sidelines; Lee yelling his approval along side her.

"Thanks Tenten-chan!" Naruto's already eager smile, widened at the vote of encouragement.

"You can definitely win!" She egged him on.

"BELIEVE IT!" He yelled out enthusiastically, before taking his seat in front of the enormous platter of food.

"Do you really think he can win?" Neji seriously asked the kunoichi standing next to him.

"Of course!" Tenten cheerfully turned to smile at the stoic Hyuga. "Naruto can do anything! Don't you think so too?"

Though he hated to admit it, Neji _did_ believe it. Naruto _could_ do anything; but that didn't mean he liked to hear that coming from Tenten.

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_**4. Yellow – Coldplay (4:31)**_

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"Oi! Tenten!" Kiba ran up to the three Team Gai teammates as they walked away from the eating competition, where, moments earlier, Naruto had gained the grand prize.

"What's up?" Tenten smiled over at the Inuzuka, as he anxiously approached them.

"I need a girl!" Kiba exclaimed as he grabbed for her hand.

"Need a girl for what?" Tenten stared incredulously at the earnest looking shinobi.

"They're having a couple's dance contest over there, and since you're the best dancer, I want you to be my girlfriend for few hours!" Kiba hurriedly explained, before pulling the girl off with him; leaving one very pissed off Hyuga and a confused Lee standing in their dust cloud.

Smoke was practically coming out of his ears, as Neji watched Tenten being pulled into the make-shift dance floor a few yards away. He had thought about asking her to dance in the competition too; knowing how much she enjoyed it. But he hated dancing and didn't want to make a fool of himself; now he cursed his cowardice.

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_**5. I Stand Corrected – Vampire Weekend (2:40)**_

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"See, you have to give the shuriken a little spin here." Tenten held the steel weapon close up to the quite Aburame; who, moments earlier, had walked up to them to inquire as to her technical in always hitting a bulls-eye when throwing her projectile weapons.

"I see." Shino nodded understandingly.

Besides them, Neji was relieved to be interrupted by someone who wasn't trying to flatter the girl, or steal her away from him this time. Shino was a respectable shinobi who, from what Neji could deduce, was not all that interested in romantic; focusing his attention more on his training then on girls.

"Thank you for your assistance." Shino politely bowed his head before he turned to retreat.

Just as Team Gai was preparing to move away from the target-booth in the festival, out of the corner of his eye, Neji swore he saw the bug-wielder turn back towards them; giving the bun-haired kunoichi an approving gaze from over the top of his dark sunglasses.

A heated shiver ran down his spin as Neji wondered if perhaps had been mistaken in his previous assumption.

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_**6. Loser – 3 Doors Down (4:25)**_

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"HEY!" Tenten ran over to the devastated looking shinobi who stood in the middle of the street; surrounded by mocking girls.

"What? You know this loser?" One of the girls carefully eyed the bun-haired kunoichi as she approached the group of girls.

"Don't call him that!" Tenten yelled at the girl; her threatening stance backing the other girls away from the sad-looking Akimichi.

"But that's what he is!" A red-headed girl in a green kimono bravely snickered.

"And to think he actually thought he could talk to us!" Another girl, wearing a light blue kimono ridiculed.

"Tch!" Tenten rolled her eyes. "You're right." She turned away from the trio of conceited girls to face the dejected-looking boy. "Chouji's _too good_ to talk to scum like you!"

"What did you say?!?" The girl in the green kimono yelled angrily.

"You heard me!" Tenten turned back and glared at the girls. "Chouji's the nicest, sweetest boy there is. And only an idiot would call him a loser!"

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_**7. She's A Rebel – Greenday (2:00)**_

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"Shiiiikamaaaaruuuuu!" Tenten sing-song-ly called out to the lazy shinobi, as Team Gai accompanied Chouji to meet up with his two teammates.

The rest of their friends stood besides the lazy-nin and Ino; waiting for their entire group to get together for the big fireworks display that was supposed to be held in a little under two hours.

"Guess what I know…" Tenten playfully smirked at the lazy genius, as she walked up to him; placing her arms on either shoulder as she trapped him in position so that she could see his face to gauge his reaction to what she was about to say.

Over the past few months the two had developed a friendship that the other's had been slightly surprised of, considering Shikamaru's tendency to utter sexist comments, and Tenten's hard-core feminist mentality. It seemed an odd sort of pairing that for some reason worked. Though it didn't seem more than platonic, it still bothered Neji to see them so friendly towards one another.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Shikamaru mumbled under his breath as he discretely nodded over toward the fuming Hyuga; but Neji noticed nonetheless. "You troublesome woman are too dangerous."

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_**8. I'm Just A Girl – No Doubt (3:33)**_

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"You look like you're having fun." The Suna Shinobi smirked down at Tenten; his smile wrinkling the purple lines on his face.

"Of course!" She returned his smile. "Aren't you?" She innocently asked as she looked up at him.

"Eh." Kankuro shrugged. "I guess I've just always thought festivals were more of a girl thing."

"Shut up!" Tenten playfully smacked the puppet master's arm.

Since the sand siblings had arrived to join their group, Tenten had been completely distracted by them. Being best friends with Temari, the bun-haired girl had spent a lot of time in Suna, and as a result, had developed friendships with the blond kunoichi's brothers along the way.

From Neji's perspective, they seemed to get along with the girl a little too well for his liking.

"You look cute dressed as girl though." Kankuro teasily smirked.

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_**9. White Wedding – Billy Idol (4:09)**_

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"Don't you think so too Gaara?" Kankuro elbowed his younger brother.

"Hn." Gaara turned his attention to the bun-haired kunoichi; carefully scanning her from head to toe.

Everyone in the village knew the Suna elders had been putting more and more pressure on the young red-head to find a wife. It seemed, from Kankuro's constant insinuations, that the puppet master thought Tenten was the prefect candidate for his younger brother. If that wasn't bad enough, though, it unnerved Neji that, of the few girls the Kazekage knew, it seemed Tenten was the only one who he actually spoke to and got along fairly well with.

"The color suits you." Gaara finally said, after observing the bun-haired kunoichi for longer than Neji thought was necessarily.

"aaa…" Tenten bashfully turned toward the ground below her; a light pink hue brushed her perfect skin. "Thank you." She timidly whispered.

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_**10. Shut Up And Drive – Rhianna (3:33)**_

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That was it! Neji was well beyond pissed now.

The whole day, as the village rejoiced in its festival, he had spent hours upon hours, in a heated rage of jealousy, as one, after another, of his friends either checked out, or completely stole away, the bun-haired kunoichi.

Yes, she looked beautiful in her light pink kimono. And yes, her loose hair made her even more beautiful. But that didn't mean they could eyeball her all day. And while their plan _had_ been to get together and go to the fireworks as one big group for the end of the festival celebration, Neji had hoped he would have had at least had a little alone-time with the kunoichi.

She was _his_ girlfriend after all!

Yet, somehow, the whole day he had spent warding off leering fan-boys, and trying really hard to restrain himself from hurting the ones he actually called his friends.

It didn't help that Tenten was too nice for her own good; encouraging the other boys' compliments and flirting. But damn it, he was fed up!

"I think we should go find a spot for the firewor-" Tenten began, before she was abruptly stopped as one very pissed off Hyuga picked her up and pulled her over his shoulder. "Neji!" She shrieked in surprised, while the others in their group just watched on in stupefied silence.

"Hn." He turned back toward their group of stunned observers; with Tenten facing the other direction. "We're not going." He informed them, before swiftly leaping up into the rooftops to find a more secluded spot without all the interfering nuisances.

Neji was done sharing.

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* * *

**_**What I thought:**

**1**. **Tenten-Lee**. I wanted to start with Lee because, other than Neji, he's one of Tenten's most often paired with pair… I think Lee's very sweet, but the most I could see the two of them as, is as brother and sister. But he is very sweet and I think he would totally tell her she looked beautiful in a completely innocent sort of way.  
**2**. **Tenten-Sai**. Hehehe… it doesn't go with the song at all, but whenever I hear this song I think of Ouran High School Host Club… which made me think of the gender-bender genre, which made me think of Sai… nuff said ;P oh, and yes, he was thinking of painting her the whole time…**  
3**. **Tenten-Naruto**. The song's title is BELIEVE how could it not be Naruto?... I think Tenten probably holds Naruto in high regard. He is the one, after all, who broke through Neji's fate-obsession and helped him become nicer.  
**4**. **Tenten-Kiba**. Yellow = coward… I was thinking Kiba could call Neji a coward, but decided to go a different way… I liked it… I can imagine Kiba doing something like this ;P … he's definitely not a coward.**  
5**. **Tenten-Shino**. Neji stood corrected alright… Shino's not completely obviously to the opposite sex… ;P  
**6**. **Tenten-Chouji**. Poor Chouji, he's so unloved… Who wants to get together with me and beat those conceited girls to a pulp?... Chouji's so nice… people should love him more…  
**7.** **Tenten-Shika**. There's a line in the song that says "And she's dangerous" which made me think of Shikamaru and his "troublesome" comments… I see Tenten and Shika as opposites, but in a workable sort of way… plus Shika not as sexist as he plays himself out to be.**  
8**. **Tenten-Kankuro**. I know people tend to pair Kankuro with Tenten sometimes, but of the sand-sibs, I like the Gaara-Tenten pairing more (though I've never actually seen it outside my own story, but still ;P)**  
9**. **Tenten-Gaara**. I couldn't help it… and in case anyone didn't realize this, the first line is supposed to connect to the last line in the 8th drabble…**  
10**. **Tenten-Neji**… FINALLY!!! … I wish I'd gotten a song with a little more time… would have made this last bit a lot more hot!... I was torn between making him kiss her just to claim what was his, or having him carry off… I went with the second option only because I knew there was no way I could pull off a kiss scene in 3 and half minutes… so yeah… hope you all liked the new drabble set! ;P


	13. Nejiten5

_**Character/pairing: NejiTen  
DEDICATION: To Shadeehue**_

_Happy Birthday to you  
__Happy Birthday to you__  
Happy Birthday dear Sara  
Happy Birthday to you_

_

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_

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_**1. Wanna Be Starting Something – Michael Jackson (R.I.P) (6:04)**_

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"KYA!!!" The group of civilian girls screamed as a bombardment of every kind of shinobi weapon came crashing down on them.

They were lucky she had such good aim. If she hadn't purposefully sent the weapons to hit where the girls' weren't standing, they would have had a lot more to be scared of.

"Every morning!" Tenten loudly growled as she pulled on her chakra stings to call back her weapons. "When will those idiots just give up already?" She huffed angrily.

"Hn." The stoic prodigy, sitting on the opposite side of the training ground, grunted his indifference as he watched the kunoichi overreact as always.

He didn't disagree with her that the meddlesome fangirls were an annoyance; especially when they always came to interrupt their team practices, but it wasn't anything new. And yet, she always reacted in the same manner; angry. And her anger always caused her to attack them as a way of scaring them off. But they always came back the next day. It was a waste; and as far as Neji was concerned, there was no real reason for Tenten to get so agitated in the first place. The only thing she was accomplishing was using up her energy. He just couldn't understand why she would get so worked up.

"Let's take a break." Neji suggested, as he rose to his feet.

Together the two walked towards the village to eat lunch, as was their customary routine at this time of the day. As they rounded the corner to the Ichiraku Ramen stand, where, surprising, the number one blond patron of the establishment was nowhere to be found, the white-eyed Hyuga noticed a group of males quickly approaching them from the side.

"Oi cutie!" One boy called out toward the bun-haired kunoichi. "Want to have some fun with us?" He asked; apparently having not noticed she was not unaccompanied.

Quickly, Neji stepped in front of the kunoichi; angrily glaring at the approaching fanboys, who were surprisingly less stupid then they looked. One glance at the Hyuga and the small group quickly retreated into the closest side street.

"Eh…" Tenten poked her head out from behind him. "And you didn't even need any weapons!"

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_**2. Prey – Cradle of Filth (4:57)**_

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Like a wild cat stalking its prey, a shadowy figure crept silently through the forest. Most would never believe that Team Gai was good at stealth operations, and while it was almost entirely true when it came to two of them, the other half of the team was actually quite skilled at it. Neji, having always been a very quiet individual, was especially well matched for sneak attacks; but it was Tenten who had proven to be the greater asset, with her cat like agility and dancer like grace.

But despite how great she was, there was very little that could be hidden from the greatest eyes in Konoha.

"Tenten." Neji calmly called out from his spot on the forest floor.

Tenten sighed in defeat, as she gracefully leapt down to stand before the prodigy. She had conveniently forgotten about his Byakugan, but she _was_still fairly proud of herself for getting as close as she had, before being discovered.

"Oh Neji, you're not fun." Tenten pouted.

"Hn." Neji simply shook his head and turned to walk toward the center of the clearing; a clear indicator for the kunoichi to prepare herself for training.

"One of these days, Hyuga…" Tenten warned as she crossed toward her side of the clearing, "One of these days I'm going to catch you off guard."

"It'll never happen." Neji stoically replied, before taking his stance, with Tenten soon following suit.

"Just you wait…" Tenten glared as she pulled off her giant scroll. "I'll do it." She confidently declared before charging at the young genius, thereby beginning the sparring match.

"Hn." Neji smirked as he easily evaded Tenten's attack.

"From here on out," She began; unwrapping her scroll and pulling out a barrage of weapons with which to attack. "You're my PREY!"

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_**3. Oh the Guilt - Nirvana (3:26)**_

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"I have to go!" Neji stood from his seat on the floor and began making his way toward the door of her apartment, where he'd been helping her out for the past few days since she'd injured both of her arms and could barely walk.

"Neji wait!" Tenten called out, as she slowly followed behind him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Neji hastily replied.

"No." Tenten stepped between him and the doorway. "It's something." She countered. "Now spill!" she glared at him challengingly.

"There is something I must take care of." Neji replied off the top of his head.

"Oh yeah, what?" Tenten disbelievingly eyed him; remaining firmly in her position between the Hyuga and his escape. She could always tell when he was lying…

"I promised Hiashi-sama I would …" He began.

"Tell me the truth." She sternly stared at him; cutting him off before he could make something up. "Something's up. I can tell just by look at you."

"Hn." He remained silent; staring off past the kunoichi.

"If there's something you have to say, just spill it already." She demanded; keeping herself firmly between the door and him, so that he could not walk out, without brushing into her; which he wouldn't dare do in her current condition.

"There is nothing wrong." He quickly repeated; though less convincingly then he previous had.

"Then why won't you look me straight in the eye?" She demanded. "I thought we were friends."

He resisted the urge to rush towards her; embracing her in his arms, and telling her she wasn't just his friend, she was his best friend; his life, his love, his everything. She was the best part of him; the reason he lived. But of course he would never dare say it like that.

"Haah." Tenten sighed. "Fine. I guess you just don't trust me enough to tell me the truth…"

"Tenten." He softly called out; feeling his heart breaking from seeing her the way she currently was; wrapped in bandages almost from head to toe. And it was all his fault…

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_**4. Mientes Tan Bien – Sin Bandera (3:48)**_

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Love.

Contrary to what most would believe, it was not something everyone was entitled to experience.

HE, was not entitled to such an emotion.

HE was the prodigy of the noblest clan in the village; pride of the Hyuga. His was not a destiny that held the luxury of such pleasures.

But…

That didn't mean that he could stop himself from feeling it.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

And yet, though he felt it, he knew nothing could ever come of his love. It was unquestioned that one day he would be married off in some strategic political move to help either the clan, or the village. That was his fate, and he had accepted it a long ago.

But this was before he met her; before he experienced that forbidden emotion. Before he began to lie to himself, and to her; telling himself that he felt nothing. She could never know; because he was almost certain… from the way her eyes lingered on him; the way her face lightly flushed when he inadvertently smiled at her… The way she said his name…

He knew… she loved him too.

But it could never be, and he wouldn't allow her to have false hope; he couldn't hurt her that way.

All he could do was lie; allow her to believe hers was a one-sided affection.

And she did. She did believe it…

Sometimes he wished he wasn't such a good liar…

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_**5. For You – Coldplay **__**(5:44**__**) **_

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"Oh, look at that!" Lee shouted, pointing towards a small shop filled with trinkets no one could ever possibly have any use for. "I'm sure Sakura-san would love one of those!" he pointed to a small metal contraption that seemed to resemble a spider.

"What is it?" Tenten stared at the odd device.

"I do not know, but it is pink." Lee commented.

"Lee!" Tenten rolled her eyes, "Just because it's pink doesn't mean Sakura will like it."

"…" Lee began tearing up. He was always doing that; wanting to get Sakura a gift on every one of their trips. "But…" He whimpered.

"Okay, okay." Tenten shook her head and sighed; always unable to handle a crying Lee. "I get it. Fine. We'll look for something she'll like."

"Oh, thank you Tenten-san! You are the best!" Lee excitedly cheered before making a made dash into the store they'd just been staring into.

"Hn." Neji grunted from beside the kunoichi.

"What?" Tenten smiled wearily over toward the silent Hyuga.

He didn't need to speak to let her know he thought it was a complete waste of their time. The so rarely had spare time during missions; it was an annoyance to him to have to spend the few moment they did have, running around looking for stupid souvenirs.

"It's Lee." She offered. "He just wants to get the girl he likes something special."

"…" Neji stared at the hideous looking ornament Lee was currently handling. "I would never get something that odious for you." He mumbled; inadvertently disclosing something he had not intended to.

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_**6. She's Got Something to Say to Me – The Vines (2:32)  
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"That was a good match." Tenten huffed, exhausted from their spar.

"Hn." Neji replied, not showing as much exhaustion as his teammate, but tired just the same.

"Lunch?" Tenten offered.

She always offered, but every time Neji would come up with some sort of excuse as to why he couldn't.

"I…" Neji began.

"No, not this time Hyuga!" Tenten interrupted him before he could come up with something. "You're coming." A fiery glare, rivaling even those of the Hyuga prodigy, emanated from her eyes.

Normally, Neji would not appreciate being told what to do, but at the moment, even the mighty Hyuga prodigy knew better than to mess with the bun-haired kunoichi when she got that look in her eye. It rarely happened outside of battle, and even then only when one of her teammates was seriously injured by the enemy, but whenever she got this way, Tenten was hell's fire in human form.

"Hn." Neji relented; begrudgingly agreeing to go.

"Come on." Tenten began pulling Neji by his sleeves.

"Tenten." Neji pulled himself free of her as the two of them began walking further into the woods; much to the surprise of the Hyuga. "Where are we going?"

"Never mind that." Tenten waved his question off.

"…" Neji didn't like being ignored. "Tenten-" He began again.

"Just wait." She replied. "There's something I want to tell you."

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_**7. **__**Control Myself**__** - **__**Maroon 5**__** (3:06)  
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The Hyuga fought hard to control himself as he watched the irritating, fang-faced shinobi, mercilessly flirt with her. Tenten didn't seem to be paying the younger man much mind, but just the same, Neji noticed that she wasn't pushing him away either.

Every fiber of his being was screaming for him to rush toward the pair and rip the idiot's arm off of her shoulders, but he couldn't.

He needed to control his urge to gut the younger man, because doing something like what he wished he could do, would easily give him away; and he had already put so much pain stricken effort into hiding the fact that he was utterly and completely enamored with the bun-haired kunoichi.

But still…

Seeing that mongrel dog with an arm slung over the kunoichi's shoulder made his blood boil to the point where Neji was slowly beginning to lose control over himself.

_BAM_

"Haah!" Tenten jumped at the sudden sound. Turning toward the loud crash, she saw the retreating back of her white-eyed teammate exiting the restaurant where the Konoha 11 had agreed to meet for lunch.

"What's wrong with that guy?" Kiba asked from besides her.

"Eh." Tenten shrugged unconcernedly. "Just a little crack in his armor."

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_**8. Day Tripper – The Beatles (2:50)**_

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Perhaps he was taking the easy way out by pretending he didn't having feelings for her; by playing the role of what was expected of him. Coldhearted, uncaring, unfeeling…

'_The easy way out?_' He scoffed. What was _easy_ about it?

It wasn't easy at all. He loved her, and he knew that she loved him. But no matter how true that was; nothing could ever come of it. His clan expected him to marry someone else. Someone he did not know, but someone who would bring a benefit to the clan. Though there was still time before that happened, in the end, any relationship now would eventually have to end. And did he really want that?

"No." Neji replied to the kunoichi's love confession.

It pained him to hurt her, more than the knowledge that they would never be together. But what else could he do? He had to hurt her now to prevent the greater hurt that could occur, if he were ever weak enough to give into the temptation of revealing his true heart. He couldn't put her through that. He couldn't give her false hope; though he wished so much he could give it to himself…

'_Easy?_' Neji inwardly scoffed as he watched the woman he loved walk away in tears; his heart breaking at knowing he had caused that, and worse, that he could not be the one to comfort her, though he so desperately wanted. "I'm sorry." He whispered into the wind.

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_**9. I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas (4:09)**_

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"aaah…" Tenten nervously looked at her appearance in the full length mirror.

She had to remind herself she did look pretty good, and not like some made up little kid who was trying to play the part of a princess for the night. She had her hair down in soft curls, a light amount of make up on her face, and a beautiful red dress that hugged her body in all the right places. She had picked out a week ago in anticipation of tonight.

"Haah." She nervously exhaled as she slowly made her way over toward her living room.

She had a feeling that tonight was going to be a good night. Or at least she hoped so.

There were butterflies nervously fluttering about in her stomach, as she looked over at the clock sitting at the other end of the small living room. It was almost time.

"eep." She ran back into the bathroom to check her appearance.

Did she really look okay? Or did she look like she was trying too hard? For a moment she thought about calling the whole thing off, but as she glanced over at the clock again, she realized it was too late.

_DING-DONG_

"Eep!" She jumped in her heels as she heard the doorbell telling her it was time.

Slowly, she made her way toward the solid oak door; nervous about what lay at the other side of the door.

"Hi." She nervously greeted before she even opened the door complete; anxiously staring down at her feet.

"He-" The stunned man stood gaping as she turned back up from staring at her shoes.

"Neji?"

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_**10. Kiss From A Rose – Seal (4:50)**_

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The music slowly dwindled down to little more than a hum in the distance, as the two of them walked deeper and deeper into the dark woods; as far away from the Hyuga compound as possible.

"Are you sure this is alright?" Tenten nervously asked the white-eyed prodigy.

It was his party, after all. He had just been appointed into a leadership position in the ANBU forces and everyone was eager to celebrate such grand accomplishment. Even as mighty as the Hyuga clan was, not even they could pull strings for making it into such an elite position. And considering how young he was, Neji was definitely worthy of the praise and honor that the clan was bestowing upon him. She hated to think she was taking him away from that.

"Hai." Neji nodded, as the two continued walking further into the wilder parts of the forest.

It was part of the forest that few people ever ventured into, but it was probably some of the most beautiful landscapes there were in the village.

"Wait up." Tenten hated having to admit her limitations, but even she couldn't will herself to walk any faster when she was running through some of the most difficult to walk terrain, and in a rather constricting kimono no less.

"Hn." Neji turned and quickly ran down the few meters he had hiked up ahead of her.

"Woah!" Tenten's startled cry went unnoticed as Neji unaffectedly swept her up into his arms in a princess hold and began carrying up the jagged terrain. "Hey!" She protested. "I can walk myself-"

"This is faster." Neji uncharacteristically cut her off.

"Yeah but-" She began protesting.

"We must hurry." He interrupted for a second time.

"Hurry?" Tenten curiously repeated, just as the two of them reached the top of the hill Neji had been taking her to.

_BOOM_

Suddenly, the sky exploded into so many beautiful and wonderful colors that Tenten didn't know where to start looking. It was all so overwhelming she didn't even realize when Neji put her back down on the floor, and then took her left hand and knelt down in front her.

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**A/N**: Hope you all liked it!

**What I thought:**

**1**. If I'd had more time, I would have put in something about how Neji finally understood…  
**2**. … that song… I don't even know why I have it on my playlist… (it's so gone!)  
**3**. I think this one would make a really good oneshot…  
**4**. I love that song; and the drabble fit really well to it (for those who can't read the title, it means "You lie so well")  
**5**. hehehe, I liked that one.  
**6**. I'm not sure where I was going with that one, but… yeah…  
**7**. ooo… was someone maybe purposefully making Neji jealous (lol, I know *I* was ;P)  
**8**. How sad… Neji would NEVER reject her! Which is why I wrote the next one!  
**9**. hehehe… see, he loves her!  
**10**. Time ended, but I actually think it ended in a good place… though I was going to get them to kiss, but… yeah… it's still a good ending.


	14. KibaHina2

**Pairing(s)/fandom: **KibaHina  
**Word count: **286; 260; 252; 248; 234; 258; 281; 152; 254; 252. (total: 2629)  
**Prompt(s) used: **Bathrobe; Purple; Chips; Card; Confession; Euphoria; Wave; Feather; Rose; Family.  
**WARNINGS: **Some angst, but nothing horribly depressing. Spoiler on prompt 5... but if anyone doesn't already know about Hinata's confession, then... what planet are you living on?!?  
**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto!

_**A/N: **__For the 10 prompts (minus contest prompt) in Deviantart's Nejitenplz group._

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_**1. Gomenasai – t.A.T.u (3:43)  
Prompt : Bathrobe**_

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"Oh don't worry!" The veterinarian kunoichi heavy-handedly slapped Hinata on the back as she pushed the young girl into the unfamiliar room. "My little brother won't mind at all. You just make yourself comfortable." The woman smirked playfully; a wicked glint in her eyes scared the Hyuga heiress, but she said nothing of it as she timidly walked into the messy room.

Her shimmering eyes quickly scanned the room of her boisterous teammate as she cautiously made her way through the piles of clothes scattered through the room. Knowing Kiba's personality as she did, Hinata was not too surprised to see the condition of his room. And though she knew Kiba wasn't the type to feel self conscious about anything, let alone a messy room, it felt wrong to the timid heiress to be standing in the bedroom of her teammate without first having been given permission by the owner himself. She felt as if she were invading his privacy.

"Ano..." Hinata turned back to suggest that perhaps it would be best if she waited somewhere else, but just as she turned to where Hana had been standing earlier, her eyes suddenly bulged at the sight before her.

"KYA!!!!!" The blue-haired girl screamed; her complexion a shade of deep red never before seen on her face as she saw the youngest Inuzuka walk into his room in a loosely opened bathrobe, hanging off his glistening body as his wet brown locks fell matted on his head.

"Hiya Hinata!" Kiba smirked; his usual confident air giving no signs of being in the least bit embarrassed about the current situation.

"Gomenasai!" Hinata hurriedly apologized before rushing out of the room.

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_**2. Thirteen – Garbage (3:31)  
Prompt : Purple**_

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"Oi! Hinata!" Kiba ran over towards the blue-haired kunoichi, leaving their two other teammates walking slowly in the opposite direction.

They had just returned from a month long mission, which had left them all feeling fairly drained. And though his house was actually in the same direction as Shino and Kurenai, Kiba had always walked Hinata home after every mission. This time, however, he had another reason for walking with her.

"Ano..." Hinata nervously shifted as they calmly walked toward the Hyuga compound. "W-was there something you needed?" The girl asked; obviously having noticed that the Inuzuka had something on his mind.

"Ummm..." Kiba blushed lightly; his right hand noticeably fidgeting in the pocket of his coat. "I... ah..." His eyes fell to the forest floor as they crossed through the wooded area adjacent to the compound. "Here!" He quickly pulled his hand out of his pocket, shoving a small package wrapped in shiny purple paper.

"Huh?" Hinata stopped walking, looking down at the small box in her hand. "T-this..." she stopped herself from asking what the gift was for, feeling too nervous to speak as she noticed the impending stutter she had always struggled with, slowly creeping up on her.

"It's... thirteen..." Kiba's blush grew deeper on his face; almost matching the fangs that marked his as a member of the Inuzuka clan. "Happy birthday!" He shouted, quickly leaning forward and kissing the kunoichi's cheek before turning and rushing away towards his house, without waiting to see her response.

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_**3. Stupid Girls – Pink (3:37)  
Prompt : Chips**_

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"Oh my gawd, I'm getting so fat!" A skinny civilian girl frantically exclaimed as she sat outside, on the patio of a popular Konoha restaurant. "I don't think I can eat anything!"

"Oh my gawd, yeah!" Another anemic looking girl nodded her head feverishly; her body so malnourished it almost looked as if she were a bobble head.

"Eee! I know!" A pale, figureless, girl with bags growing under her sunken eyes agreed with the other two. "It's so hard keeping the weight off. I ate some chips the other day..."

"You didn't!" The two other girls exclaimed in disbelief.

"Agh." Kiba groaned as he walked past the superficial group of girls chatting about dieting and fashion and all those asinine things that shallow girls talk about.

It was so annoying!

Kiba couldn't understand why girls would put themselves through so much pain, and starve themselves to the point of becoming disgusting skeletons, just to look 'good'. Not that they looked good anyway; at least not from where he was standing. It wasn't that he liked big girls either, but he'd prefer a chubby girl to a bag of bones any day.

Kiba just preferred a girl with a little more meat on her bones.

"Kiba-kun?" A timid voice from behind the irritated Inuzuka quickly eased his tension, as he instantly recognized who it was.

"Hinata!" Kiba happily turned to face the curvy kunoichi.

Now that was the kind of girl _he_ liked.

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_**4. Nobody puts Baby in the corner – Fall Out Boy (3:28)  
Prompt : Card**_

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"Arf!" The large white dog hurriedly rushed through the busy market streets as he narrowed in on his target.

"Haah!" Hinata gasped on seeing the large dog ready to pounce on her as he always did when he came to find her. "Akamaru-kun." She nervously whispered, quickly scanning the surrounding area to see if she had been followed out of the Hyuga compound.

A tiny voice in her head told her not to worry so much about it, but her insecurities won her over. Lately she had been feeling as if someone was always watching her. Even with her byakugan, however, the timid heiress could never seem to locate who it was that was following her. It made her nervous because she was certain that meant that either her father or one of the elders was suspicious of her recent increase in outings.

She knew her clan would disapprove, and for that reason and to avoid heartache and pain, she wanted to keep her secret, private.

"Arf!" The giant puppy barked to get the kunoichi's attention back on him.

"Oh sorry Akamaru-kun." Hinata smiled apologetically.

"..." Wagging his tail happily, the large dog pushed what appeared to be a small card into the timid heiress' hand.

"What's this?" Hinata shyly asked; carefully opening the small card in her delicate hands, her face immediately flushed as she looked at the contents of the note:

_'Come see me._

_I love you!_

_- K.'_

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_**5. I'll Be – Edwin McCain (4:30)  
Prompt : Confession**_

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She did it.

She finally confessed to the boy she'd loved for so many years.

She had never imagined she would end up nearly dieing in the process... but then she had never imagined that she would ever build up the courage to confess in the first place...

But she did.

As she laid there in bed, her whole body aching, she couldn't avoid the escaped tear that ran down her cheek. It wasn't sorrow she was feeling though. Yes, it stung that she knew her love would never be reciprocated, but... she was happy. She had managed to overcome an obstacle that had plagued her her entire life; her own debilitating cowardice.

She had overcome it and confessed her feelings. Despite the pain, both physical and emotional, she felt happy. She felt amazingly free and accomplished. And in a strange way, she felt as if she could move on, and find someone else, because she knew... he loved someone already, and it wasn't her...

"You're braver than me." A voice whispered from besides her.

She was too tired to open her eyes and see who it was that had spoken, but she didn't need to, she recognized the warmth emanating from the man sitting at her bedside.

"You're amazing Hinata." Kiba whispered from besides her. "Haah." He sighed deeply; desperately. "Guess that's why I fell in love with you..."

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_**6. Everything Changed – Aqualung (3:21)  
Prompt : Euphoria**_

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Euphoria.

That was what Kiba was feeling at the moment. Complete and utter euphoria. It was like magic drifting through the air; a feeling of sheer bliss consuming him. His entire body felt like it was on fire as all the pent up emotions that he had been concealing for so long finally came bursting forth in one brief but undeniably perfect moment.

"Hinata..." He whispered as the two of them parted.

His lips still felt like they were burning. Running his tongue instinctively over his swollen mouth, he smiled blissfully. He could still taste her there. He loved kissing her. The feel of her soft mouth pressed against his as he gently kissed her, sent shivers up and down his spine each and every time, as if it were the first kiss all over again.

Gentle.

It always started out that way. Because to him, despite the hidden strength he knew she possessed, she was still delicate. Delicate and perfect. And so he was always purposefully gentle with her; at least at the beginning. But as the feelings of bliss and euphoria consumed him (always getting stronger with each new kiss), he'd eventually become too passionate to hold back, and their kiss would change from a tender and sweet kiss, to fiery and heated as he practically devoured her mouth until they both ran out of air.

Pressing his forehead to hers, he hungrily stared down at the white-eyed kunoichi. "I love you." Kiba whispered, before quickly recapturing her lips in yet another breath-taking kiss.

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_**7. Everybody's Fool – Evanescence (3:16)  
Prompt : Wave**_

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"Haa, haa, haa." The blue-haired kunoichi cried desolately in front of the oval-shaped mirror overlooking her bathroom sink. The make up she had been forced to wear for the evening's event, now ruined as it ran down her face in horrible black streaks. "Useless." She cried; wiping the tears out of her eyes as a wave of sorrow continued to overwhelm her.

Why was she so useless? Everyone knew it. Everyone could tell just by looking at her.

She wasn't suited to be the leader of the Hyuga clan. She was worthless. Ever since she'd been born, her father and the elders had made it very clear to her that she was weak and thus unsuitable to be the head of the clan. Despite how hard she tired to prove herself, she was never good enough. Her successes always paled in comparison to those of her younger sister, or of her older cousin. Not that she blamed them; in fact, she admired them for their strength. But it still hurt that she would always be compared to them and never quite measure up.

She hide it though.

The last thing she would ever want to do was bring down the Hyuga pride. So she pretended; hid behind a timid smiling mask.

"Oi! Hinata-chan..." A somber whisper startled the kunoichi was the fang-marked shinobi of her team walked up behind her; a cool breeze brushing past her, let Hinata know he had snuck in through the window again. "Come here." He gestured; walking over toward her and pulling her into his arms where she could cry into his chest like she had so many times in the past.

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_**8. Pirate looks at 40 – Jack Johnson (2:24)  
Prompt : Feather**_

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"Heheheh."

"Huh?" Kiba cocked his head to the side, staring at the giggling kunoichi questioningly. "What? You don't like it?" He asked, as his hands went up to readjust the large floppy hat on his head.

"Ano... it's just..." Hinata blushed; her eyes nervously shifting from the hat to the floor as she tried to suppress her laughter. "It... it looks good on you Kiba-kun." She bashfully smiled.

"Yeah?" Kiba grinned proudly; puffing his chest out confidently as he smirkingly beamed at his new look.

"mhm." Hinata nodded; still too nervous to really look at the hat, fearful she might break out into another giggling fit and hurt the boy's feelings.

"Yeah," Kiba smirked confidently. "I do look hot as a pirate, don't I?" He bragged; quickly ruffling the big red feather, that had drooped onto his face, back into an upright position.

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_**9. Save me from myself – Christina Augilera (3:14)  
Prompt : Rose**_

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It couldn't possibly be easy loving her.

She was sure of it.

There was no way any guy would love someone as weak and pathetic as her. A girl that no one loved. A miserable child whose own clan rejected her. A girl whose only love thought she was a weirdo, and who didn't love her back.

She was tainted. A bad seed that could never live up to her name. A desperate soul who didn't know how to love herself, as she had never been shown any love by anyone before.

She didn't get it. Why was he so nice to her? How could anyone possibly love a loser like her?

"Stop that." Kiba scolded. Though his tone and expression held no anger or resentment in them.

"Nani?" Hinata timidly gave him a questioning glance.

"You're doubting yourself again." He told her; instantly seeing through her as if he could actually tell what she was thinking. "You're not a loser." He reprimanded.

"Ano..." She was about protest, but thought better of it; after all, there was no point in it, he would be able to tell she was lying.

"Here." He handed her a rose from the bush next to him; using his sharp animal-like claws to clear the thorns off the stem.

"Wha-"

"I already said it," he leaned in, closing in on her so that their faces were mere inches apart. "I love you, and I'll always love you, no matter what."

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_**10. Big girls don't cry – Fergie (4:28)  
Prompt : Family**_

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"Don't cry." Kiba gently stroked the back of the blue-haired kunoichi's head as he held her in his arms.

"I-I-I" Hinata gasped for breath between her sobbing. "I-I c-can't h-help i-it!" She cried; burying her face into the feral-eyed shinobi's broad chest.

"Shh, shh, shh." Kiba gently rocked her in his arms as they sat together in the small, sparsely decorated room. "Everything's fine." He cooed. "There's no reason to cry." he added; stroking the kunoichi's hair softly to try and comfort her.

"I-I-I know." Hinata replied through tears. "It-it's j-just ahh haa ahh." She turned and pressed her face against his chest to try and quiet the sounds of her sobbing.

"It's okay, it's okay." He reassuring caressed his hand on her back to try and calm her. "It's a good thing." Kiba reminded her.

"I-I know." Hinata nodded; swallowing hard as she tried to steady her quivering voice. "B-but... but I c-can't h-help it." She repeated.

"But I don't like seeing you cry." Kiba sniffed back; trying to also keep himself composed.

"I-I'm sorry." She sobbed back. "I-I'm just too-too happy." She replied, before falling back into another sobbing fit.

"I-I know." Kiba tearfully replied; his own eyes welling up as he held his wife in his arms. "I'm happy too." He added through tears, as he looked down lovingly at the woman whom he had just discovered, was carrying his unborn child.

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**A/N**: Fitting two prompts into one drabble under timed conditions... it was a challenge... but I think it came out okay.

**What I thought:**

**1**. It's always more fun to embarrass the guys... but Kiba just doesn't seem like the type who would get embarrassed.

**2**. I think the ending was a little weak, but it was cute. :D

**3**. The song and the prompt... just totally worked. But besides that, I do think Kiba would be the type who'd find superficial girls annoying. He'd never say it, cos he's smart enough to keep his mouth shut, but he's surrounded by strong woman, and both he and Shino admire and support Hinata's silent strength, so she's definitely not one of those "Stupid girls."

**4**. The whole time I was writing this, I was trying to come up with what to put in the card, when the song just about ran out, I just threw those words together. ;p I think they work. I also think this wouldn't make a bad full-length oneshot or longer... a secret relationship between Kiba and Hinata that the Hyuga clan disapproves of ;p … probably cliché, but it'd be fun! heeheh

**5**. I LOVE this song! And it was prefect for the prompt, and yet I got stumped on what to write for a little while there... ultimately I made it two confessions in one... if you didn't get it, this was in the hospital, after Hinata confessed to Naruto and risked her life to save him... the reason Kiba says she's braver than him is because she found the courage to tell Naruto her feelings, and yet Kiba can't find the courage to tell her his feelings for her.

**6**. When I saw the prompt, first thing I thought was KISS! Then the song... a kiss really can change everything, so it worked! Of course as I was writing it, the "change" thing kind of escaped me, but I was getting there...

**7**. If I had more time, I could have done more with this. The concept of this one was that Hinata hide behind her timid smile, when inside she was crying but no one knows it... except Kiba, who's not fooled at all.

**8**. Feather... was just not an easy prompt for my sweet and innocent vision of this couple. Luckily, this song was a prefect distraction... pirate, feather... HAT! hehehe

**9**. I have been wanting to use this song as a songfic for over a year! This isn't quite the store i've been thinking in my head (it's way too depressing!), but i'm taking the fact that this song came up during the shuffle as a sign that I NEED to write that song fic with this song. Anyway... this one... overall too depressing... I don't like to have Hinata be THIS gloomy... an I wish I'd had more time to give Kiba a better line at the end, but overall it's fine enough.

**10**. Song's good for the Family prompt. I almost went angst with this, but I don't like ending on an unhappy note, so I decided to make Hinata pregnant... and yes, those are HAPPY tears!


	15. Koudo

_**Character/pairing: **__Koudo (with hints of Nejiten)_

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_**1. Float on – Modest Mouse (3:30)**_

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"So you're sure about this?" Tenten curiously questioned the man in front of her as he fiddled with the buttons on his shirt.

"Yes." Koudo replied; looking down seriously at the top button of the gray dress shirt, that just didn't seem to want to cooperate with him.

"But it's not really the type of mission you usually take on." The kunoichi pointed out; quickly reaching out to finish the button before the older man tore it off his new shirt.

"I know." The seasoned shinobi nodded, taking the next piece of clothing off his dresser and quickly wrapping it around his neck. "But it'll be fine."

"Yeah, I'm sure it will." Tenten smirked; holding back a chuckle as she watched her older brother struggle with the article of clothing that he was unaccustomed to using.

It seemed odd to see him so clean and dressed up; almost alien. But she was grateful that for the first time in years she would finally have her older brother home with her, and not lost somewhere in wilderness, fighting for his life, never knowing if he may or may not return.

For the first time in years, she was happy to know that 'everything will be alright' was actually true.

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_**2. Anatomy of your enemy – Anti-Flag (3:04)**_

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"Okay everyone..." Koudo cautiously began; pacing in front of the small room he had assigned the name of 'mission room'. "This is our target." He pointed the long stick someone had given him, on to the poster behind him. "Remember this face!" He violently hit the poster with the pointer stick. "This is the enemy." Koudo turned and sternly stared at the group.

He had been training them for over a month already. They had been very green when first he received them as his charges, but now, he knew they were full trained for what he was about to assign to them.

They would not fail him.

"Failure is not an option." Koudo confidently asserted. "It is your mission to take him down, by whatever means necessary." He slammed the long stick repetitively on the poster; a way of emphasizing how important it was to complete their mission. "Is that understood?"

"HAI!" The room yelled out in unison.

"Good!" Koudo nodded; gesturing for them to stand and prepare themselves.

He watched as quickly, everyone in the room grabbed their supplies and moved toward the door; ready to take on their very important mission.

"One last thing." Koudo called out before they left. "There will be a bun-haired girl with him; she's not to be touched." He ordered, before once more letting the group 6 year olds go on their way. "Good luck!"

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_**3. Inside my head – Radiohead (3:09)**_

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"She says I'm obsessive." Koudo sighed; resting his head back on the long brown couch. "But I don't think she understands. Men can't be trusted!" He adamantly asserted; passionately rising to his feet on the couch. "Even the ones that look all prime and proper!" He jumped off the couch and began furiously pacing back and forth in the small room. "Those are the ones we have to watch out for the most! They're the ones that creep in unexpectedly, and win you over with thoughts about how noble and honorable, and respectful they are, and then when you're not looking they attack!" He stopped pacing and pounded his right fist into his left hand with all his strength. "I'm not gonna give him the chance! I won't be tricked! I won't!" He angrily punch his fist forward, carelessly shoving it into the wall in front of him. Nervously turning to face the man standing behind him, Koudo innocently shrugged. "So tell me..." He wearily smiled. "how screwed am I?" He asked; referring not to the hole in the wall, but in regards to the conversation concerning his sister's relationship with her white-eyed teammate.

"Hm" Gai sternly stared at the younger man; his arms crossed over his chest, as he stood in his most serious pose. "Completely."

"I thought so." Koudo nodded, defeatedly.

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_** Pros and Cons of breathing – Fall Out Boy (3:22)**_

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"Grrrr." Koudo snarled as he watched the white-eyed shinobi walking away with his precious little sister.

The two of them apparently out on a date, though considering Koudo knew for a fact that the Hyuga had yet to confess to the bun-haired kunoichi, it was more like a friend-date (if that was even the correct term). In any case, the manner in which the younger man stood and walked besides his sister, didn't quite appeal to Koudo.

He visibly fumed as he watched the younger man walk closer toward the girl when the two of them walked past a group of guys standing outside a ramen shop.

"Tch." Koudo scoffed at the scene. Who did that Hyuga think he was? As if he were any better than those lecherous boy eyeballing his little sister. "hn." Koudo made a quick mental note to look up those three terrified looking civilian when he had more time. For now, though, his priorities were elsewhere. "That little grrrrr."

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_**5. Twisted Logic – Coldplay (5:02)**_

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"Hey that's mine!" Tenten stabbed her fork down hard on the wood; purposefully missing the arm that reached out across the table, aiming for her plate.

"But you weren't eating it." The owner of the aforementioned arm whined, as he pulled his arm back away from the kitchen utensil; knowing full well, even a fork could be deadly in the hands of someone as the girl in front of him.

"Yeah, but I'm saving it for later." The girl yelled as she pulled her fork out of the wood.

"But you don't really like it!" Koudo asserted; hoping to convince the girl into giving him the piece of chocolate cake layered in fudge, that sat temptingly in front of her, as he had already finished his own chocolate fudge cake.

"Says who?!" She shouted back; protectively guarding her cake with one hand as she glared at the older man.

"Well you're not eating it!" He pointed the to untouched cake, as if that were a winning argument.

"That's because it's the best part of the meal, so I'm saving it for last." She replied.

"That's stupid logic!" Koudo scoffed disbelievingly.

"What?!?!" Tenten looked at him curiously, wondering what the hell he was talking about.

"What if you die before you finish the meal? Don't you think it would be better to eat the best part first, and then the rest?"

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_**6. Replaceable – The Killers (3:52)**_

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"Hey I know you!" A loud, excited voice yelled out from besides Koudo.

"Huh?" He turned and stared questioningly at the blond boy sitting next to him at the small Ramen stand where he was waiting to get his lunch.

"You're the one guy..." The boy stopped, tilting his head up and scratching his chin pensively, as if trying to remember where it was he knew Koudo from.

It took him a moment as he watched the boy stare off into space, but Koudo realized fairly quickly who the boy actually was. Actually it was difficult not to know who he was, after all Naruto was the boy who had saved the village a year earlier, and who seemed to be next in line for the title of Hokage; a goal that apparently had been the young blond's dream for years now.

"mmm..." Naruto turned back and faced the older shinobi. "It'll come to me."

"Hn." Koudo looked away; reaching out to the young lady behind the counter as she handed him his bowl of ramen.

"Oh that's a good one!" Naruto pointed at the bowl in front of Koudo. "Everybody thinks so... well..." He cocked his head to the side, contorting his mouth as he thought about what he'd just said. "Except for Neji though... but he's weird."

"Oh?" Koudo turned back and face the boy; smirking at his last comment. "You think so?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded; reaching forward as the waitress handed him his plate of ramen.

"Hn." Koudo's smirk grew wider. "I like you kid."

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_**7. So Cruel – U2 (5:49)**_

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"Hya!" The battle cry emanating from the newly appointed jounin resounded through the small hall outside the Hokage's office as the kunoichi kicked her dominate leg as hard as she could.

"Agh." Koudo painfully held his stomach as he laid on the floor, trying to keep from crying as he catch his breath. "That was cruel." He choked out. "All I wanted was to congratulate my precious little sister and this is what I get?"

"I'm sorry!" Tenten quickly ran to her older brother's side; reaching her hand out to help him up. "I didn't mean to kick so hard." She tried explaining. And really, she hadn't.

Going through the jounin selections had been an arduous task. Though she had prepared for them for month, after what she had been through in the forest of death, Tenten couldn't help but feel her nerve on edge. So naturally, when Koudo had come to hug her, she had instinctively reacted as if she were being attacked, and kicked her brother square in the stomach.

"Okay" Koudo groaned as he rose to his feet. "Fine."

"Tenten." A familiar grating voice addressed the kunoichi from behind the panting shinobi.

"Neji!" The girl beamed happily; brushing passed Koudo as she went to greet her white-eyed teammate. "What are you doing here?" She asked; suddenly very away of how dirty and unappealing she must have looked after spending three days in the forest.

"I..." Neji stopped, standing himself upright as if holding back what he wanted to say, before handing Tenten an elegant white envelope.

"What's this?" Tenten inquired; curiously looking down at the object in his hand.

"Hiashi-sama would like to invite you for dinner." Neji replied. "He would like to personally congratulate you on your achieving Jounin status." He added as clarification.

"Oh." A look of surprise briefly crossed the kunoichi's face as she accepted the envelope.

"We'll be there!" Koudo wickedly grinned as he stepped between the two, thinking it would be very interesting to see the Hyuga in natural environment.

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_**8. Real Wild Child – Everlife (3:20)**_

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"You're such a mean little sister." Koudo pouted; falling down heavily onto the carpeted floor of the apartment the two siblings shared. "I never should have opened that basket left on our doorstep when I was eight." He whined.

"Stop saying that!" Tenten shouted weakly. She wasn't angry, she was just so used to hearing that since they were children, that she didn't really didn't take it seriously. At the same time, however, it irritated her because when she was younger, she actually had believed that she was an abandoned baby that Koudo had picked up off the street, like a lost little puppy, (which occasionally he still treated her like).

"hehehe." Koudo laughed at the flustered girl's annoyed expression. "You're so cute when you angry, Tennie!" He leaned forward, towards where the girl has sat down next to him, and quickly latched his index fingers and thumbs on each of the kunoichi's cheeks and pulled on them. "Makes me want to see you cry." He added as he tugged on her cheeks just a little harder.

"Hey!" The kunoichi yelled back; extending her own arms out toward the older man, as she mimicked his behavior and began pulling at his cheeks.

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_**9. The child is gone – Fiona Apple (4:15)**_

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He watched as she slept. As the blankets on her body rose and fell with every breath. Her usually tightly held brown locks splayed out wildly on the pillow below her.

An angel.

That's what she looked like. A sweet innocent little angel.

Ever since she came into his world, Koudo's entire life had changed. Though at first he had seen her as an intruder, and at one point had even blamed her for their mother's disappearance shortly after her birth, the first time he heard her laugh, at the tender age of one months, Koudo's heart had been completely won over by that tiny angelic cherub.

"Haah." He sighed; slowly walking over toward the bed where his little sister slept, no doubt dreaming of her white-eyed prince.

Inside, a part of Koudo regretted having not been there for her as much as he should have been. He had been there the first few years after their grandmother had died, but when he reached the age of adulthood, and Tenten began to look more and more like their worthless mother, he had slowly, unconsciously, begun distancing himself from her. Keeping the imagine of the cherub cheeked little angel in his mind, instead of the face of the woman who had abandoned them.

Perhaps it was due to this, that in his mind, Tenten never really grew up...

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_**10. My life would suck without you – Kelly Clarkson (3:29)**_

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"LEFT!" Koudo shouted. "No RIGHT! UP! UP! Come on!"

"STOP IT!" Tenten shouted back, as she angrily turned back to glare at her brother. "I know what I'm doing!"

"But you're doing it wrong!" Koudo accusingly replied.

"No I'm not! Leave me alone!" Tenten shouted back; turning her attention back to the screen behind her, as she moved her legs in accordance to what she saw in front of her.

"You're doing it wrong!" Koudo shouted; frustrated at the fact that she wasn't listening to him, and as a result was messing up their chances. "Okay that's enough!" He jumped onto the small platform and picked the kunoichi up. In smooth and easy movement, he quickly lifted her from the waist and moved her to the ground below, effective replacing her.

"HEY!" Tenten shouted, but dared not try the same thing he had just done. Which was a smart idea considering she wasn't nearly as strong as him, and he wasn't nearly as light as she was. "YOU'RE MESSING UP!" She reprimanded; screaming excited as she witnessed the shinobi miss three steps in a row.

"QUIET! I CAN DO THIS!" He shouted back; energetically bouncing back and forth on the shiny platform as he tried to complete the moves indicated to him on the flashing screen.

"YOU SUCK!" Tenten shouted, angry that she had been replaced only to have her partner mess up over and over again.

Glancing towards their right, the kunoichi groaned as she saw Gai and Lee easily switching back and forth as they expertly followed the colorful arrows on the screen in front of them.

"Would you have preferred to have been one of their partners?" Neji, the only one of their group not participating in the competition, mockingly asked.

"Tch." Tenten scoffed as she turned her attention back to the man flailing about in front of her. "Well... at least he makes life interesting..." She mused; watching her older brother dance crazily on the video game platform.

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**A/N**: Getting myself to sit down and focus has been so difficult lately... :(

**What I thought:**

**1**. ooo new job... which will be a part of the multi-chapter story.  
**2**. heheh I liked how this one turned out. And of course it gives away Koudo's new job ;p  
**3**. Heheh I half imagined this to be sort of like Koudo talking to a psychiatrist but I wanted it to be Gai all along hehehe :XD:  
**4**. Kind of short, but I needed some sort of Neji-Koudo conflict drabble.  
**5**. Koudo's the type who would have this type of logic ;p carpe diem!  
**6**. I don't know where I was going with this... but for some reason I think Koudo would like Naruto. Anyway this idea came more from the title than the song... like Koudo would totally try to replace Neji with Naruto just to spite Neji.  
**7**. I think Hiashi would love Tenten... I really do.  
**8**. Heheh I used to do that to my little brother all the time... I thought it'd be a nice sweet childish moment between the two siblings ;p  
**9**. This was a really good song... and it made a story sort of flow out of it that I had been wondering about... the mother that abandoned them... maybe i'll use that in the multi-chapter plot.  
**10**. Yes, they're on Dance Dance Revolution ;p heheh anyway I was going for Koudo thinking that his life would suck without Tenten, but it kind of turned around on me ;p I liked it though :D


	16. Nejiten Family

_**Character/pairing: Nejiten (sort of)**_

_**PROMPT**_ – Family

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_**1. Float on – Modest Mouse (3:30)**_

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He wasn't exactly sure what he was doing. It was the middle of the night, and for some strange reason Neji had made his way to the top of the Hokage monument, just to stare at the night's sky. Thinking about it rationally, he supposed that perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he would be getting married in the morning. The months of preparation had been nearly unbearable, especially given how much the elders had insisted on overseeing that all Hyuga traditions be held, would finally be coming to an end. In the morning he would walk on a carpet of white rose petals, down to the reflection pond in the certain of the Hyuga gardens. Wearing traditional robes, he would repeat the words he had been forced to memorize; all in an effort to placate a bunch of old men he didn't even care for.

"Haah." Neji sighed exasperatedly.

Why was he doing this again?

"You know," a familiar voice called out to the Hyuga, "you don't have to go through with if you don't want to."

"A lot of effort has gone into this wedding." Neji somberly replied, as the bun-haired girl carefully approached the ledge next to him.

"So?" She smirked playfully, daring him with her eyes to break away and do what he wanted to do for once in his life.

"We could get into a lot of trouble if we did that," he stated, referring to what they both knew had been his preference from the start.

"Yeah, but..." her smirk widened as she rose to her feet, "what could they do once it's done?" Tenten smiled down reassuring at him, as she extended her hand out for him to take, silently telling him it really would be alright if they took off and eloped that very night.

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_**2. I think I'm paranoid – Garbage (3:38)**_

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"Tenten," he called to his wife, as he walked into the bathroom where he had heard her moving around a few moments earlier.

"Neji!" The bun-haired kunoichi gasped, clearly having failed to hear him as he walked into the small room.

"What was that?" He question his wife after seeing her quickly hide something behind her back.

"What was what?" She nervously shifted on her feet, unconsciously walking backwards into the sink.

"Tenten." Neji sternly stared at the weapons mistress.

Normally, he wouldn't press a matter that she clearly did not want to speak about, but the look of paranoia in her eyes worried him. Whatever it was she that had Tenten so agitated, he didn't want her to think she was alone. What good was he as a husband, if he couldn't help the woman he loved when she needed it?

"I..." Tenten hesitated, opening and closing her mouth several times as if she wanted to tell him, but didn't dare.

"Ten-"

_DING_

A sharp bell-like sound rang at the far corner of the sink, momentarily distracting the Hyuga. Out of the corner of his eyes he could barely make out as his wife quickly turned behind herself to look at a small stick-like object, before quickly turning back to face him again.

"Is that..." Neji stood dumbfounded, unsure if he had really just seem what he thought he saw. "Does that mean..."

"..." Nervously chewing her lower lip, Tenten nodded slowly as a small smile spread across her face. "Yeah... we're gonna have a baby..." she half-whispered, as pulled out the positive pregnancy test she had been hiding behind her back.

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_**3. Honesty – Sevendust (3:30)**_

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"She looks like a raisin." The teenage girl commented, as she stared down at the new born baby sleeping comfortably in between pink pillows and blankets.

Not the color she would have chosen, nor was it the color she would have imagined the little girl's parents would have chosen for her either. Neither of them seemed particularly fond of color in general. The décor in their house clearly demonstrated as much. Then again, they were Hyugas, and Hyugas didn't really do color.

She wondered if perhaps someone had given them the blankets and pillows. Maybe someone who wanted people to know _it_ was a girl.

"It _is_ a girl, right?" She cocked her head to the side wondering if the shriveled up little thing wrapped tightly in the pink blankets really was a girl, or whether maybe they just made a mistake.

"Hanabi." Neji's warning tone and the stern stare told her she should let it go.

But she couldn't. The more she looked at the baby in the crib, the more she was convinced it couldn't be human.

"What?" Hanabi snarkily replied. "I'm just being honest." She added in her defense.

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_**4. Homesick at space camp – Fall out boy (3:09)**_

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Neji stopped dead in his tracks as he entered his home's family room. Normally it was kept clean and orderly, just how he liked it. This time, however, as he stepped through the threshold, Neji was stunned to see the room in complete disarray. The furniture was turned over and pushed to the sides; sofa cushions tossed across the room, leaving the center cleared for what appeared to be curtains and sheets, hanging loosely on wires and bo staffs.

"Boys." Neji sternly called out the the small shadows he could make out just inside the tented sheets.

"Yes dad?" Five-year old Hitori poked his head out from an opening in the curtains.

"What's going on?" Neji questioned.

"We've built a fortress." Hitori's older twin, Ryuuken, poked his head out from behind a square cushion wall.

"We're defending the princess." Hitori added with a confident smile.

"Hn?" Neji quirked his head to the side, unsure of what they were saying. "Does your mother know you turned her family room upside-down?" he asked curiously, half wondering where Tenten could have been during the whole ordeal.

"Yeah, sure!" Hitori's smile grew even wider as he and Ryuuken nodded in agreement. "Right, mom?" The younger twin turned back to look into the tent, waiting for a confirmation.

"Yup!" Tenten poked her head out of the opening besides her son, holding on to her infant daughter. "We were protecting your princess."

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_**5. Hello Little Girl – The Beatles (1:40)**_

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It would save time, she said; time which they could later use for themselves.

"Haah." Neji sighed, closing his eyes tightly as he tired to keep the migraine that threatened to emerge, at bay.

He still had no idea how she had convinced him to split up. Much less how _she_ had ended up with the boys, and _he_ had ended up in the frilly dress section of the shopping district, looking at glittered shoes and flowered headbands.

So what if the boys going back to school needs only included buying new weapons for class, and their mother just happened to be a weapons expert? Could he have done just as good a job at picking out academy-grade kunai and shuriken? Did they really need an expert to pick out blunt weapons?

"Daddy?" Four-year-old Mayuki tugged his sleeves, looking up at him sweetly. "Can you put these on next?" She held up a tiny pair of pink sandals with little white flowers painted all long the sides.

"mhm." Neji nodded calmly, gently pulling the little girl over to the nearest bench to help her into the sandals.

As he stared into the little girl's smiling face, Neji instantly knew how he'd been tricked...

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_**6. School Day (Ring Ring goes the bell) – Chuck Berry (2:43)**_

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It was the beginning of a new scholastic year, and the house had been an uproar since the early twilight hours as all the children woke up to prepare for their first day back. Ryuuken and Hitori, being eight year old and having already experienced the first day of school several times, had quickly gotten themselves ready and then gone out to the large backyard to do some target practice until their mother called them to come in and eat breakfast before heading to the academy. Four year old Mayuki, having never experienced the first day of school, had been quite nervous, clinging to her father and repeatedly asking for reassurance that if she didn't like school, he would take her away as soon as she asked. Despite Tenten's insistence that that would be a bad idea, Neji had nonetheless promised the little girl that he would save her if she needed saving. At the end of the day, however, after standing outside the academy all day, Neji was relieved to see that his little girl had made it through her first day of school.

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_**7. Bubbly – **__**Colbie Caillet**__** (3:17)**_

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Tenten had never been a giggler. Even when they had first started dating, and Neji began to see new sides of her, Tenten had never been the type to laugh out loud. Her laughter was quiet and demure, often hidden behind her hand. It was an adorably graceful laugh. One which suited her perfectly. The laughter in her eyes, on the other hand, was soundlessly loud. The same laughter he now heard in their daughter's giggles.

"Hehehe, come on daddy," Mayuki smiled brightly as she cheerfully bounced over to where her father was meditating against a tree. "Come play with me!" She beamed, happily spinning around in a circle. "heheheh." Her giggling increased when the little girl saw tiny bubbles surrounding her as they floated out of the small plastic wand she held in her hand.

"Yeah daddy, play with her." Tenten teasingly smirked, slowly covering her mouth as she silently giggled at the thought of Neji making bubbles and chasing them around to try and pop them like their daughter was currently doing.

"Pleeeeeeeeeease?" Mayuki begged, before quickly running over to her two older brothers, who were busy trying to catch fish in the nearby stream, and pulled them over to help her convince their father. "Pretty pretty please?"

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_**8. Fireflies – Faith Hill (4:27)**_

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"Hey, hey, is it true that if I kiss a frog it'll turn into a prince?" Five-year-old Mayuki anxiously ran up her two older brothers, who were sitting on a stump in the backyard, eating a snack their mother had made them for after they finished with their target practice.

She had heard from a girl in her class, who had been told by her mother, that when a princess kissed a frog, the frog would turn into a prince. This was a concept that Mayuki was unfamiliar with since the majority of the bedtime stories her mother usually told her, consisted mostly of strong kunoichis, rather than the typical damsel in distress. So it came as a great shock to her that other mothers tended to tell stories about princesses and princes, and thus whenever any of her friends told her one of those stories, the violet-eyed Hyuga hung on to every last word.

"eh?" Hitori, the younger of the two twins, cocked his head to the side curiously, wondering where exactly her sister had come up with that idea.

"It's because father calls her a princess." Ryuuken cleared the confusion for his younger twin.

"Ah." Hitori nodded, before mischievously turning to their baby sister. "Well, why don't you test it out?" He smirked, turning to see if Ryuuken would play along with his teasing. Of course Hitori already knew his brother never liked involving himself in childish games, especially if it were teasing at the expense of his beloved baby sister, whom he was extremely overprotective of.

"Father once called Lee-sensei's children tadpoles." Ryuuken seriously replied, much to his younger brother's surprise.

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_**9. Baker Baker – Tori Amos (3:13)**_

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"You're doing it wrong, daddy!" Seven-year-old Mayuki informed her father, as Neji mixed the contents of the bowl in his hands.

Carefully putting her own bowl down, the young Hyuga pushed herself off the stool her father had helped her up on after she had accidently dropped a packet of flour in the kitchen, which ended up covering the two of them in the powdery substance.

"Shouldn't it be blue?" Neji asked his daughter, eyeing the pink bottle of food coloring she picked up before walking over to him.

"But pink is prettier," she stated matter-of-factly, before pouring the contents of the small flask straight into the bowl of frosting.

"Perhaps, but isn't this cake meant for your brothers?" Neji reminded her why she had pouted for the last half hour before finally getting her father to cave and help her bake a cake for her two older brothers, while their mother went to go pick them up.

"Yeah." Mayuki looked over at her father; her face seemed to be asking him what his point was.

"Hn." Neji nodded, realizing that it really didn't matter. Yes, it was boys' promotion to genin, but if their little sister made them a pink cake because _she_ liked it, it didn't matter because her brothers would never get mad at her. "Alright, we'll do it your way." Neji conceded, knowing it would be fine even if the boys didn't like it. In the end, she could always do whatever she wanted because the seven-year-old girl, had her eleven-year-old brothers wrapped around her little finger.

"Thank you, daddy." Mayuki smiled up sweetly at her father.

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_**10. Butterfly Kisses – Bob Carlisle (5:00)**_

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It hurt.

It hurt in a way Neji had never imagined anything in the world could ever possibly hurt. It hurt him more than the time he fought against Kidomaru. It hurt more than the surgery afterwards, or the months of rehabilitation. It was more painful than any battle he'd ever fought, more difficult than any challenge he'd ever encountered. It tore at his heart like a thousand kunai digging into him.

As he walked down that dreaded path he had hoped would never come, an endless array of memories flooded into the Hyuga. Flowery memories of glittery pink plush toys and homemade sweets. Of secret bedtime stories about strong, yet beautiful princesses; of fluffy dresses and sparkled slippers.

Every step he took, took him further and further away from those memories; knowing that in an instant, with a single promise, he'd have to give it all away. And it hurt. He didn't want to do it. It was too painful...

"It's time to let go daddy." A tiny, nervous voice called out to the Hyuga.

"Hn?" Neji turned to his one and only daughter, his precious princess, and smiled down defeatedly. "Yeah." He nodded solemnly, before slowly leaning down and gently kissing her forehead.

Quietly, he released her arm, and hopelessly began walking over to the seat that had been reserved for him, too afraid to look back at what he knew would come next...

"You're such a drama queen Neji." Tenten teasingly whispered after he sat down next to her.

He would have retorted with a snappy comeback if it weren't for the fact that he was afraid he'd start crying if opened his mouth. So instead he remained silent and watched as his precious little girl happily exchanged vows with the floppy-haired son of his former teammate.

"Don't worry," Tenten locked her arm round his and leaned into his shoulder lovingly. "She'll always be your little princess."

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_**A/N: I'm still on HIATUS, but because Family Month over at Nejitenplz was my idea, I needed to participate somehow, so I decided to write this drabble set up, hope you enjoyed it. Oh and for anyone not familiar with Ryuuken, Hitori, and Mayuki, just go check out my profile... and read the Wind and Dragon Series! (thought hey don't come out til the end in the Five Noble Clan's Epilogue, but still worth the read before that :P)**_

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**What I thought:**

**1**. I liked that one. It was my intent from the beginning that they would be eloping, but somewhere in the middle of that I wasn't sure if Neji was gonna marry someone else, or was gonna marry Tenten all along... so I'll just leave it up to the reader ;p

**2**. I thought that was cute. XD nothing more to say...

**3**. not 100% cos I forgot how old Neji and Tenten were in Wind and Dragon, but I believe they were about 19 years old... so if between that and the birth of Mayuki was about 7 years, and Hanabi is 7 years younger than Neji and Tenten, that would make her 19, so still a teenage ;p (hahah you can see how much thought I put into my stories just in these little things XP)

**4**. heheheh I loved this one... the boys protecting their little princess ;p … in the wind and dragon series I always made Neji and the boys be overprotective of Mayuki, but I liked that here it kind of implies that Tenten was a bit overprotective too. So she really had no hope, poor Mayuki had both parents train Ryuuken and Hitori to protect her ;p

**5**. hahaha! I was half tempted to put in Shikamaru with Matsumi at his side, but I ran out of song ;p … i'm just a sucker for a daddy-daughter moment XP

**6**. This idea came to me as I was remembering something my dad said to me when I was applying to colleges... I was 16 when I graduated, so I was kind of young, but I thought I was mature enough to go off to college like any other student, and had been considering going to school on the East Coast (I'm on the West Coast). When I told my dad about it, he'd said he would support whatever decision I took, but then added that if I did end up going to college on the east coast he would quit his job and follow me to school, and he would wait for me outside of school for me everyday to make sure I was okay. Needless to say, I didn't go away to college... ;p

**7**. Imagining Neji making bubbles and spinning, and popping... hehehe it's just an amusing thought to me XD

**8**. I like the idea of Neji thinking Lee's a bit of a frog, thus his children are tadpoles... I hope I don't really have to explain that one any further than that...

**9**. Yeah, something tells me Ryuuken and Hitori aren't the only ones she has wrapped around her little finger ;p

**10**. awwwwww... I love that song... dad and I danced it at my quinceanera... it's such a sappy father-daughter song, I couldn't help but run with it... and just in case someone somehow didn't get that, Neji was giving Mayuki away (i.e. she was marrying Lee's son, Nao).


	17. ShinoHana

_**Character/pairing: ShinoHana **__(I think their name should be "Shiana or maybe Shana" lol... but maybe that sounds too girlie... how about "Hano" or "Shano"? hahah)_

_**Art Trade with jyukai-koudan**_

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1. Hanging Around – Counting Crows(4:09)  
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"Who are you?" Hana asked as she walked into the small living room area of her home, having just returned from a graveyard shift at the animal hospital.

Sitting on the couch, a boy about the age of her eleven year old brother, sat waiting silently. His posture was impossibly straight, unlike anyone the Inuzuka girl had ever see before. Was he seriously Kiba's age, she wondered. She found it difficult to believe the boy could have any relationship with her wild and immature little brother, but there was no other logical explanation as to why the boy would be there in the first place.

"Aburame Shino," the boy softly, but confidently, replied as he politely stood to his feet and greeted the older kunoichi.

"A friend of the runt, I take it?" she asked, referring to her younger brother.

"Hai." Shino nodded, apparently understanding who she had met.

"Oi!" a loud bark from behind the pair yelled out. "Quit bugging my teammate Oneechan!"

Hana turned to faced her brother as he entered the room with a plate of refreshments. "I'm not bugging him!" she barked back, turning to the other boy expectantly. "Ain't that right?" she asked.

"I am not bothered." Shino replied passively, before calmly retaking his seat.

Weird kid, Hana thought, as she politely dismissed herself, leaving the two boys to go about their business.

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2. Strange and beautiful – Aqualung (3:52)  
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There she is again, Shino thought, as he watched the Inuzuka vet rush briskly past the courtyard of her family's home, followed closely by her three nin-dogs.

She hadn't seen him, however. But Shino had. He wondered, as he watched her throw a ball out for her nin-dogs to retrieve, whether he should go over and greet her. It was the polite thing to do. And Shino had been raised to always be polite. But for some reason, as he watched her playing with her dogs, or perhaps exercising their muscles (though from the way she was heartily laughing, it looked more like playing than working), Shino simply did not feel like interrupting the kunoichi.

Often, when he came to see Kiba, Shino would see the older girl. She usually always had a pensive look on her face, as if she was worried about one thing or another. Perhaps this was due to the fact that she often had to bear the burden of looking out for herself and her younger 'idiot' brother (as she called him) whenever their mother was away on long missions. Perhaps it was because some of duties in the animal hospital often required putting an animal to sleep, something which Shino had long since noticed she hated to do. Whatever the reason, it was a rarity for him to be able to catch a glimpse of the kunoichi smiling and laughing as she was at that moment.

He wished he could imprint the image to his mind, and keep it forever. It was for that reason, he felt compelled to remain where he was, instead of walking over to greet the kunoichi.

He just wanted to watch a little while longer...

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3. Lost In Love – Air Supply (3:54)  
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"Thank you." the brown-haired kunoichi smiled gratefully as she pushed her way through the library entrance where the younger man had been holding the door for her.

"You are welcome." Shino replied, looking down at the woman who was carrying a massive load of large medical texts in her hands. "May I assist you?" he politely questioned, extending his hand out to offer his help.

"Ah! Shino-san!" Hana gasped at seeing who the young man was. "Yes, please," she smiled sweetly, handing over half of her books, grateful for the assistance.

They walked in silence for a good ten minutes, just enjoying the simplicity of nature as the two made their way to the Inuzuka home. Though he wouldn't mind talking to her more, and perhaps even wished he could say something to her, the truth was, Shino enjoyed the fact that Hana was one of the few people who didn't seem uncomfortable with silence.

Everyone knew he wasn't the outspoken, talkative type, but to many it still bothered them when silence fell upon them in his company. Hana was different, though. She didn't feel the need to fill in the silence with mindless chatter. She didn't fidget or blush, losing herself to the awkwardness of having nothing to say. She was comfortable with it; comfortable with him.

Perhaps that was what he liked about her.

In the years he had known the older kunoichi, since initially meeting her in her family home when Kiba had first invited him over to try and get to know him, and try to get him to speak more, Shino had taken a strong liking to her. She was a beauty, and that did not escape his adolescent eyes, but it was more than that. Hana had a calming, strong aura to her. She was unlike any of the girls he knew. She was mature and self-confident. He liked that about her very much.

He liked _her _very much.

So much in fact, he could no longer be contented with fleeting run-ins whenever he went to pick up Kiba for training or missions. And so recently, he had begun to seek out situations where he could spend more time with her.

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4. Me Gustas Tu – Manu Chao (4:00)  
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"I like you." he bluntly said out of the blue one day, as the pair sat eating lunch outside the Konoha Library.

It wasn't really out of the blue though. For a long time Shino had liked the older kunoichi, but he had just never said anything until then. He really didn't know what she felt for him. Though they did spend a lot of time together, especially in recent months, the truth was they had never quite defined what it was they were doing or what it was they meant to one another. For all he knew, she just saw him as her little brother's best friend. He, however, didn't see her as merely his best friend's older sister; to him, she was... well he wasn't quite sure what she was.

"You like me?" she repeated quietly, putting her sandwich down as she furrowed her brow apparently attempting to figure out what it was he had just said.

"Yes." he nodded, not caring to repeat himself as he felt it was enough to say it once. As it was, he didn't really like repeating himself in the first place.

"You like me..." She, on the other hand, apparently had no problems with repetition. They were different in that respect; as well as in many others. But still, he liked that about her. She wasn't like him, she was her own person. "You like me," she repeated again.

All three times she said it, however, were different. The first had been a question, as if she were shocked by what she had heard. The second, trailed off, as if she were thinking about it, curious as to what it meant. The third time, it was a certainty. She knew what it was he said, and knew what it meant.

"I like you too," Hana replied after a moment of silence. She smiled at him kindly, then picked her sandwich up again and continued eating her lunch, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do after having been confessed to by the younger man.

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5. Nervous Shakedown – AC/DC (4:27)  
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Hana looked herself over in the mirror one last time. Pursing her lips together, she wondered what was wrong with her. She felt uneasy, nervous, so unlike her usual self.

"Baka!" she scolded herself, glaring at the image facing back at her in the mirror.

She was a medic! A kunoichi! Someone who held life and death in her hands on a daily bases. Someone who had faced death time again and never once flinched or faltered. She was an Inuzuka! They didn't get nervous! They got the job done!

And yet... she couldn't help it.

There were butterflies in her stomach. A knot in her throat. Her heart was beating unusually fast, and her palms were sweaty.

"Okay!" She slapped her hands hard against her cheeks, forcing herself to snap out of whatever it was that was causing her to feel so uneasy. "I gotta get over this!" she ordered herself, forcing an awkward smile as she walked out of her room, and headed out to the restaurant where she had agreed to meet Shino for dinner; their first.

"Hana-san." he greeted her when she arrived.

There was a definite look in his eyes that made the butterflies flutter harder in her stomach. A thought crossed her mind, wondering if inside of him, there was literal fluttering going on. The image made her relax slightly, and smirk at the same time. She tried not to laugh out loud so as not to seem weird, though she was certain that ship had sailed the moment she walked in to the restaurant in a form-hugging red dress. She wondered if perhaps it had been too much.

"You look lovely," he stated, after a moment of silent observation.

"Thank you." She quietly replied, feeling herself blush at the compliment as he pulled the chair out and invited her to sit.

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6. Kiss Me – Six pence none the richer (3:30)  
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He tried to stay calm.

He tried to remind himself to breath. Tried to still his Kikaichu from stirring up his insides as they buzzed away, reacting to his increased heart rate. It seemed unlike him to feel so uneasy, especially since he was with the one person he usually always felt at ease with. But it was different from before. They weren't just having lunch at the library, or staring up at the starry sky. They weren't talking about some book they read, or a new technique they had researched. They weren't recounting tales of their latest mission, or discussing the probability of Kiba growing a pair and finally confessing to his timid teammate.

They were... Kissing.

The fact that Hana was beautiful had never alluded him, but Shino, perhaps because of his limited experience, had never really contemplated what it meant to date. He had confessed to her because he had felt the need to communicate his thoughts and feelings. But hadn't really considered what it would mean for them. He hadn't thought about dates, or hugs, or kisses, or any of that physical stuff. For him, it had just been about being with her. Spending time together. Enjoying stimulating conversation. Hearing her soft, light laughter. Staring at her sweet delicate smile. Listening to her calm soothing voice.

But... kissing...

He had not really thought about that. That is, until she kissed him!

Standing there, just outside the Inuzuka house, on a moonlit night, after having walked her home from their latest date, all of his attention was completely focused on the pair of lips pressed firmly against his. They were soft. A sweet taste, that reminded him of the scent of sweet and spicy pork she had eaten, still lingered on her breath as her tongue probed it's way into his mouth. It tasted good. It felt good...

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7. Talk – Coldplay (5:11)  
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"So?" Kiba crossed his arms as he leaned back against a large tree in his team's usual training grounds. "What'd you wanna talk about?" he asked the silent shinobi as Shino rigidly stood in front of him.

"There is a matter which I have been meaning to speak with you on," the Aburame began, straightening his back further as he tried to come up with a way in which to say what he wanted to say.

Shino had been dating Kiba's older sister for a few months already. They had developed a friendship long before that, however, so the fact that they were occasionally seen together did not register to any as particularly unusual. The fact that they were now dating, however, was something which the two of them had decided to keep to themselves. Both had felt it was nobody's business by their own what they did in their free time. And so, they had decided it was unnecessary to inform anyone of the change in their relationship. Still, Shino had felt that to Kiba, at least, he owed him the respect and courtesy of letting him know.

It wasn't that he felt as if he needed to explain himself. It was more out of loyalty, than anything else, that Shino felt he owed his bestfriend not to keep something as important as this from him.

"Well?" Kiba barked. "Get on with it!" he urged, tapping his foot anxiously and looking around as if he needed to be somewhere else.

"Is this an inconvenient time for you?" Shino asked, knowing that what he wanted to say was a serious matter and he would prefer to explain things to his friend in a less hurried, more formal manner than simply blurting out that he was dating his sister.

"If this is about you and Oneechan, I already know," Kiba dismissively waved.

"..." Shino's eyes opened wide as he looked at his friend in bewilderment, never having expected that Kiba would have known and said nothing.

"Tch." Kiba scoffed, pushing himself off the tree trunk and walking over to him. "She always reeks of you," he explained, at seeing his friend's confusion, then quickly took off in the direction of the Hyuga compound, leaving Shino to wonder whether it meant he was okay with it or not...

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8. Going to the Chapel – The Marvellets (2:50)  
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"Should we really be doing this?" The man next to her questioned, as the young couple stood outside a quaint little Shinto temple, near the outskirts of the village.

"Huh?" Hana tilted her head to the side curiously.

For a moment she wondered if perhaps he was right, and they should wait until they told their families, and had their blessings. But knowing her mother, she would be furious no matter what they said and would likely cause a loud commotion, something which Hana did not particularly desire for the event.

She had offered to let him invite his family at the very least, but Shino had firmly stated that if her mother could not be there, it would be unfair if his was. And so they had decided to come alone.

Walking into the lonely temple, Hana tightly grasped his hand. She felt nervous at what they were about to do, but at the same time she was trembling in excitement. She knew it was the right decision. It was what her heart told her. But she wondered if their families would ever forgive her for not including them.

"It only matters that we do what is best for us." Shino calmly stated, knowing full well what was running through the older kunoichi's mind.

"You're right." She nodded, smiling up at him. Inhaling deeply, she began walking more confidently towards the alter, where the monk that would soon marry them was waiting for them. "Let's do this!"

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9. Are You Ready For This? – Three Days Grace (2:48)  
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"Are you #&$ing kidding me?" The feral-eyed woman yelled at the pair of lovers as they stood before her, informing her for the first time about their relationship.

Though Shino suspected she had likely known about them, just as Kiba had, the young Aburame would have preferred having told the older woman about his relationship with her daughter under more favorable circumstances.

"We're not asking for your permission, mother!" Hana loudly barked back, unwilling to cower to her mother's intimidating glare.

"What the #&$ where you thinking?" Tsume yelled at her daughter, raising her voice even louder. "Are you two even ready for this?" she asked, referring to the reason behind why they had come to speak to her.

"Of course we are!" Hana replied, this time in a much more serene tone.

"How can you say that so calmly?" the older woman angrily yelled. "Don't you know how huge this is?"

"Ma!" a loud booming voice from behind yelled out for the two women to stop growling at each other.

"WHAT?" Tsume turned furiously to face the boy that had just yelled out to her.

"Chill!" Kiba calmly replied. "Oneechan is a big girl now," he stated matter-a-factly. "And Shino's a good guy," Kiba assured his mother. "She could do a helluva lot worst," he mumbled under his breath.

"AGH!" Tsume growled angrily, realizing she was outnumbered. "Okay fine!" She turned and glared at Shino. "But this mean's you're marrying my daughter!"

"Actually..." Hana began, but stopped when she was quickly faced with a fuming Tsume.

"This is non negotiable!" the feral woman yelled. "I will not have my first grandchild born out of wedlock!" she ordered.

"The thing is..." Hana slowly began stepping back, pulling on Shino's arm to get him to move as well. "We kind of already got married. Sorry. Bye!" she hurriedly said, before quickly rushing out the door in an attempt to avoid her mother's inevitable explosion.

"WHAT?"

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10. Dancing Cheek To Cheek – Frank Sinatra (3:05)  
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Heaven.

That's what it felt like, as she held their new born daughter close to her cheek.

_She looks like a tiny little angel_, Hana thought, looking down lovingly at the rosy cheeked babe.

"She is beautiful." Shino stated, looking down at mother and child with a blissfully happy expression on his normally stoic features. "Just like her mother."

"heheh." Hana softly laughed, scooting over slight on the hospital bed to make room for him to sit down next to her. "Would you like to hold her?" she asked as he sat down.

"Yes." He nodded, extending his arms out to receive the baby girl, much like he had years ago, when he first began talking to the older kunoichi outside the Konoha Library.

"She has your eyes." Hana commented, leaning her head onto his shoulder as they both looked down peacefully at the curious little girl looking up at them.

"She has your smile." Shino added, feeling the Kikaichu in him buzzing from his excitement as he remembered the moment he first fell for the woman and her wonderful smile.

As they sat there in silence, enjoying the peace and tranquility of the moment, before their families arrived and brought in needless noise and chatter, both proud new parents shared the same thought... "This is _our _daughter."

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**A/N**: You know, I never really thought about ShinoHana before. I don't particularly care for either character so I didn't feel anything for either of them, much less for them as a couple, but I had a fun time writing this and I can honestly say I can see why people would like them. They're cute. And Shino is actually pretty amusing (I did a little research before writing ;p)


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